


Teeter

by thelovemasheen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2017-12-29 06:50:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 43,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelovemasheen/pseuds/thelovemasheen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Tell me how you like the chapter. I don’t know how I feel about it. But KJ loves it lol. And In the words of my first reader this is “just a bit of fluff and pizza” . Hope you like </p><p>Disclaimer: I don’t own shit. Especially not OUAT or it’s characters</p></blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The phone in her pocket buzzed as a computerized voice bellowed out the current weather and time in Storybrooke, Maine from within the lining of her clothes. Usually the smart alarm was her cue to start breakfast; not walk into the Town Hall from the second floor of the garage. Normally the businesswoman had no hatred towards Mondays; they’re the days she uses to get all her important tasks for the week done so the days following can be lighter. But this Monday, was conjured up and sent straight from hell. She fumbled around her jacket pocket in search of that insipid voice screaming news headlines at her. _Shut up_ , she screamed internally as she stepped into the elevator and punched the button marked 4th floor.

 “HOLD THE DOOR!” a deep voice called from the distance, instantly causing the woman to repeatedly slam her palm against the CLOSE DOOR button in a panic. The doors were almost closed when she released a premature sigh of relief. Apparently, just in time for the elevator gods to betray her and send the doors to move in the opposite direction. She let out a harsh breath. _You have got to be fucking kidding me_. Regina stared ahead at the shiny gold elevator doors opening, her mood souring by each millisecond it took for them to come to their destination. She clicked her tongue in disapproval; she was hoping to spend the 45 seconds it takes to ride up to the floor of her office alone. _What is with today?_ She thought as the bell taunted her announcing the upcoming presence of another person. She lifted her head and flashed a uniformed smile, obviously devoid of true feeling.

 “Good Morning Regina.” Sidney Glass smiled awkwardly; standing there in a fitted grey suit and tie he cleared his throat and folded the newspaper he had been reading. His hair was beginning to show hints of grey all over.  _The salt and pepper look would really work for him, but then again I really don’t care._

“Good Morning Sidney.” She tried to muster enough fake joy for this to hopefully be the end of their conversation. Regina went back to her thoughts for a second before she realized that Sidney was too busy staring at the tanned legs flowing out of her navy skirt. _Ugh, Creep_. Already at her fill of human interaction the dark beauty sighed heavily and repeatedly pressed the DOOR CLOSE button. “Must you stand so close? There is a lot of elevator space to your left.” Regina grumbled before rolling her eyes at the man who was now scrambling to the far side of the enclosure and turning a bright shade of red. 

Just as she began to question who she wronged in the past week for karma to be kicking her ass today and why she wasn’t in her office yet, the doors opened showing the layout of the desk for the receptionist for her floor. “Thank God,” she whispered quietly as a new sense of freedom washed over her. Once the doors parted wide enough for her to fit her small frame through she did everything but sprint away. Taking the left at the end of the hall she could see the thick wooden door with her name and position emblazoned on the front. Exasperated, Regina unlocked the door and tossed her black legal bag in the direction of the small couch in the corner of her office not caring if it actually landed on the intended piece of furniture and kicked the door closed with her heel. Throwing her body into the black leather chair behind her vintage oak desk she silently thanked her best friend for investing in her office furniture. A gift for when she got appointed to the position of County Commissioner under Mayor Spencer when he was elected.  It wasn’t just ostentatious but surprisingly comfortable. She sighed in contentment and tapped her keyboard, awakening the massive iMac on her desk.

Knock. Knock.

“Damnit!” She cursed quietly.

“Ha! I heard that.” The sing-song voice of a young man invaded her office before he pushed at the heavy door and let himself in. “Well someone’s cranky this morning. I have some Sambuca in my desk if you need something to make your coffee a little more stringent.” He smiled earnestly before setting down a steaming cup of coffee.

The Latina smiled softly; slightly embarrassed for cursing out loud she began to berate her super-ego for the lack of control. He stood statuesque at the base of her desk. Practically able to hear the faint turning of the mechanics working in the brain of the woman in front of him, he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Relax, it’s just me. What happened this morning? Hurry up and drink that before you make me slap you.” All emotion fled from her face. Uncaring, he shrugged his shoulders and walked away from her towards the door. “I’m not afraid to fight a woman twice my age,” he called over his shoulder before shutting himself out and skipping over to his station out front. The PA chuckled to himself imagining the look on his bosses face before he escaped and shut the door. The red light flashed on the phone in front of him, he slapped the button on his ear piece. “Am I fired?”

“Indefinitely,” Regina stated prior to erupting into laughter. “Thank you Jefferson. How did you know I needed a black coffee?”

“Because you’re not supposed to be in for another hour and a half and I don’t see Mr. Mayor’s gas guzzling monstrosity of a Hummer.” He paused for dramatic flair, “this means he called you this morning knowing today was your late day and he didn’t do something right, fed you some BS, and needs you to fix it-”

“…Before the council meeting at eleven, of course.” She finished her assistant’s sentence with a groan.

“What is it this time?”

“He didn’t finalize the Cultural Affairs Calendar that is supposed to be presented today, and he has an off-site meeting with god knows who and can’t attend the meeting either. He had the entire weekend to tell me, I would have had no problem completing it….if he told me NOT a few hours before it’s to be finalized.” She could feel a headache forming over her right eye. Taking a healthy swig from the pink mug on her desk, she could hear her assistant slap his palm to his forehead.

“Mayor Spencer is the laziest asshole in this city; you should have run for mayor yourself instead of running his campaign party Regina. But whatever, you’re obviously a glutton for punishment. You need to tell him to do his own shit. I’ll screen your calls until you’re finished and get the numbers you need to call from his secretary. Don’t stress.” His voice trailed into a worrisome tone.

“I’ve got it in my email, thanks. Henry should be calling in about 15 minutes to tell me he made it onto the bus. That is the only voice I would like to hear today, send everything else to my voicemail.”

“Yes my queen.”

* * *

 

“Oh my God. Ruby get up, my boyfriend is outside!” A female voice whispered from the doorframe.

“WHAT?!” Ruby jumped up, knocking the stack of folders she was unashamedly using as a pillow.

“You should have seen your face!” The young waitress laughed and pointed at a less than amused Ruby.

“Very funny,” the leggy brunette said through clenched teeth rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Losing her balance and grabbing onto the side of the desk, Ruby looked over at the various papers and file folders lining the floor with a sigh. “You suck,” she yawned.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Eugenia Lucas barged into the staff office with her hands perched ever so angrily on her hips. “Why were you shouting? Why is there a mess in here?” Bright grey curls bounced against the old woman’s face.

“It’s nothing Granny,” She said with an eye roll “Tara was just being funny.” Ruby sighed as she dropped to her knees and began retrieving the invoices that had taken all morning to organize. Celebrating the completion with a nap, before actually placing them in the marked file cabinet drawer was currently proving to have been a bad idea.

“Sorry Rubes.” The high schooler muttered, slightly ashamed and sunk down to the floor and began to help.

“It’s okay, it probably was really funny,” the older brunette flashed the teen a toothy smile and bumped their shoulders together. “That’s like my worst nightmare,” she said with a chuckle.

“Well I really don’t know what is going on but I’m going to need one of you in the front it’s time for the afternoon rush.” The older woman didn’t wait for a response before turning on a heel and leaving to go back to the front of the restaurant.

“I can do it Ruby, it’s my fault anyway.” Tara attempted to find the folder to put the invoices from March into their appropriate folder.

“Ok kid, but if there’s anything you find that you can’t figure out where it goes just place it on the desk and I’ll do it later.” Ruby called out over her shoulder as she walked out of the door. She turned the corner and spotted Granny in the far corner taking orders. _She looks like she has it under control, I wonder if I can go back to sleep?_ The bell over the front door jingled annoyingly, pulling her from her thoughts. Looking in its path, she noticed her favorite piece of eye candy walking through the threshold. “Well if it isn’t my favorite County Commissioner. You’re early.” She looked at her watch, noting it was only four in the afternoon when she usually strolls in at 5:30 after she gets off.

Red lips smirked at the admission, “Favorite? How’d I get so lucky? You probably say that to all the cabinet members.” Her chest heaved forward slightly more than required, putting a delicious amount of cleavage on display as she sat down at the counter. An obnoxious pink tongue snaked out over her bottom lip flirtatiously; this had become their coquettish routine. Once a week, like clockwork, the cultivated brunette would stroll into the diner devoid of her adorable 9 year old son Henry.  Originally used as a meal incentive for her son to start studying for his spelling tests early, after it became his normal habit she couldn’t bring herself to stop coming in and being kept under the watchful eye of the young neighborhood hottie. “I had no idea you paid attention to my schedule Miss Lucas, I was sure you had more pressing matters that crossed your mind…Not little old me. What other things do you think you know about me?” Regina said with a wink.

Ruby always considered herself a natural flirt, but there was something different about her normal libido when the well established woman waltzed in unaided.  A current of venereal energy ran through her core. “I wasn’t aware that you considered what material crossed my mind. Wha-“

“Hey can I get prime rib with fries, mashed potatoes and gravy to go?” An older man, brandishing a dark tan suit and an attitude, abruptly interrupted their conversation before pulling out his wallet and dropping a bill on the counter and tapping on his watch.

“Why of course Mr. Mayor, I’ll have it coming right up.” Ruby shot Regina an apologetic look before disappearing into the kitchen. _Fucking Dick._ Ruby thought as she slammed the refrigerator door and tossing the red piece of beef into the oven pan.

“I think it’s already dead.” Tara snickered taking the pan from Ruby and placing it gently into the center rack of the oven. “I’ll cover the front if you want to go back out there and try a little harder to get into Ms. Mills’ pants.

“Thanks T, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. The mayor just basically called out my peasant status, there is no way I’m going to come back from that. She comes from money! If she even looked twice at me before, she just got reminded that I work in public service while she works in public office. I thought he was gonna ask me to shine his shoes or toss me a quarter and thank me for being a good little girl.” She folded her arms angrily and looked in the younger woman’s direction.

“I know, I heard.” Tara gave a sympathetic smile, “but don’t freak out she totally ripped him a new one for being rude. He totally shut the fuck up and sat down.” She looked around nervously making sure granny didn’t hear her curse. With the coast clear, she laughed as she placed fries and mashed potatoes into their own separate containers.

Ruby smiled to herself at hearing that her crush stood up for her but that quickly branched into panic. “I’m not going back out there! T you gotta cover me until she leaves!”

“Omg! Man up.” Tara said as she grabbed onto Ruby’s arms and shook. “I’m leaving you, get your act together you’re worst than a teenager…..and I’m 16 so that’s really saying something.”

Ruby huffed and pulled the piece of meat out of the oven and tossing it into a to-go box. She floated around the kitchen with precision and prepared another order before walking out of the kitchen to deliver Sir Crabby Pants his steak. “Here you go!” She put forth the fakest smile she could muster and he just grunted in return and left with his order. She marched over to the cash register and stared at his back until she saw him officially leave. “And for you madam commissioner,” She placed a plastic to-go bag in front of her former flirting partner.

“But I didn’t order yet.” Regina said looking into the bag.

“So what, you asked me what else I knew about you. I know what you like.” Ruby turned around and grabbed the Styrofoam cup from behind her. “Now a hard decision, do you want this strawberry cheesecake milkshake or an actual piece of strawberry cheesecake?”

The woman in front of her sat there for a beat speechless, “surprise me?”

“In more ways than one…”

 


	2. Chapter 2

“You are gonna get shot.”

                “What? No I’m not!”

                “Ari you’re an idiot. I don’t even think she’s 18 and you totally fucked her mom, who happens to be a police officer. Gun…Bam…Here Lies The Body Of Ariel Sears.” Ruby deadpanned into the phone.

                “If I can convince her to not tell her mom, I’m good on both ends. And she’ll be 18 next month; chill. Oh yeah, I booked the studio for every 1st Thursday from now until August. We have from 6pm to 10pm; you and Robbie can thank my stipend for that. Son, I’m so glad we are taking this band shit seriously. Our fans are gonna freak at a regular web show. You think once a month is cool for a start?”

                “Shit Granny’s coming, she looks pissed. Call you after work?”

                “You’re in trouble; you’re in trouble, Ruby’s in trouble.” Ariel sang irritatingly.

                “Fuck you, bye.” Ruby turned around and whispered just as her grandmother tapped on her shoulder.

                “Tell Mary Margaret I said to ‘please let you get back to work’,” the elder said in a sickeningly light tone. She watched her granddaughter’s posture straighten with apprehension as she realized she had finally been caught slacking on the job.

                Ruby turned around and guided a fallen red streak of hair back to the bun atop her head. “That wasn’t M&M Gran, it was Ari.” She avoided eye contact because her grandmother loves to voice on how she doesn’t approve of their friendship.  Although she has a deep aversion to lying to the woman who saved her life, the last thing on her list of “wants” is a soapbox sermon from Granny Lucas.

                “Well if that’s the case you can tell her that if she’s so busy keeping you away from doing your job you’ll be free to chat whenever you like because you’ll be unemployed.” Eugenia placed a warm hand on her hip.

                Ruby’s eyebrows dropped to a defensive line, “Granny, it’s not that serious.” Her voice was at a dangerous decibel in the corner of the diner. As her fists nervously flexed at the sides of her apron she could feel the metal of the chairs sliding across the floor from people craning their necks in their direction. It has been a few years since the two have had a knock down drag out verbal altercation in front of people. With rapt attention she could practically feel the woman in front of her bristle. “I’m just gonna go. I’ll be back, Tara is on her way.” She stormed past her grandmother and pushed through the side door to the left of them.

                The amount of time elapsed was a mystery, her brain only just acknowledged that she was still moving when the temperature dropped around her signaling the time difference from when she walked out of Granny’s. Blinking, Ruby looked around and noticed she was at least two miles away from the home and business she shared with her grandmother. She noticed a familiar figure a few feet in front of her raising the hood of her car in distress. The slender legs that stemmed from the steadily rising black skirt were sparkling in the afternoon sun. Walking up to the figure, she could make out faint curses. “You look like you don’t know what you’re doing.”

                Regina Mills glared in the direction of the person with the audacity to insult her. “Excuse me, and you do?” Her body language began to read: ABRASIVE before she matched the voice to the individual.

                “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s been a rough day. I don’t seem to have a filter.“ A pesky red piece of hair was in her face again, giving up Ruby slid it behind her ear. “Is it okay if I take a look at her?” She pointed under the hood in surrender, smiling genuinely as a measure of good faith. The vixen ahead of her visibly softened. _That’s it, come to mama._

                “Truce, it hasn’t been a really stellar start to my week either.” Regina let out a sigh, “and now my car won’t start and I cannot figure out for the life of me why.” She grunted internally and began to pace back and forth at the head of the black BMW.

                “No worries; just let me check out the scene.” The younger woman’s face disappeared beneath the hood of the car as long legs poured out of a borderline obscenely short skirt. “Get in the car and try to start it.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Regina asked, trying to dispel the theory that she’s a damsel in distress. “I’ve already called Marco and told him to pick up my car.” Her voice faded off with frustration as her mind flipped through all the things she was supposed to be doing at this time. None of them were standing in an empty parking lot on the far side of town with her car immobile.

“Shut up and start the car,” was quickly followed with a flippant huff and point in the direction of the driver’s side door. Ruby watched as the stubborn woman stomped a heel and stalked off to sit behind the steering wheel. Waiting for her to turn the key, she took note of the mechanics that was powering the classic BMW. Everything seemed to be in fantastic shape, intense warmth rolled over Ruby’s skin at the realization that the mysterious woman appreciates cars more than the average woman. The engine made an attempt to roar to life but suddenly died. She stared off in thought at what could be eclipsing the start of the car. There was a shout at the formation of an idea, followed by sounds of Ruby banging on something. She appeared to be on the tips of her toes trying to make sure something was tightened and fastened down towards the back of the fuse box. Leaning up revealing arms covered in soot and engine grease, she stood there with a smile. Catching the older woman eyeing her hungrily at her exposed abs and lower rib, snagging her bottom lip between teeth she pulled her shirt down to its full length. _She is so hot, Ruby don’t you dare ruin this._ “Try it now.”

                Regina knew Ruby could see the blush trailing up from her collar bone so, taking matters into her own hands she jumped into the driver’s seat, and slammed the door. After almost dropping her keys a second time, the awkwardness in the air was interrupted by the constant hum of Regina’s vehicle. “How did you do that? What was wrong with it? What do I need to do if this happens again?” Regina shot out of the front seat and to her side prepared to bombard her with more questions.

                “Luckily, it was easy. Your battery cable was loose; whoever replaced your battery didn’t tighten the bolt enough. You just need to go back and have them fix that. You should take it over to Marco’s on 4th and Elm, they’re pretty solid.” Placing grimy hands to her apron, she began to wipe crazily against the clean material.

                “Actually, that’s where I got the car worked on. Mickey performed the order; he always makes me feel like he’s incompetent, obviously I was right,” Regina said arrogantly. Her small stature was evident in the moments following as she reached up to pull the hood closed. Right arm stretched high and forearm muscles straining against the material of her red dress shirt. Leaving her left arm balancing against the car, because she has on heels and leaning dangerously on the tips of her toes; the last thing she would want to happen is her embarrassing herself and falling over into the street.”

                “Whoa really? He usually does a good job. I wonder what-,” She snapped her fingers in revelation, clipping off her own thought. “Were you standing over him?” Ruby asked, giving off a disapproving look. “He’s really nervous, but he knows what he’s doing,” she said, her tone taking a sympathetic turn; only to earn a scoff as a response. The woman in front of her let out a disinterested wave and walked back to her open door mumbling about how she has far more important things to do. The deep staccato of her gait made the young woman’s heart vibrate on every click; begging and desperate to break free from the cage of ribs and muscle and trail under her arches like a puppy.

                “Thank you, Miss Lucas.”  Regina stopped and smiled honestly before climbing into the black beauty. Pushing the coupe from its parked position, the car rolled forward in the direction of her savior who was saying something inaudible. The window rolled halfway down a few seconds too late, “I’m sorry dear; I didn’t get any of that.”

                “OH!” she said with a chuckle. _You’re an idiot; her window was up, great job._ “You’re welcome, but you do know you are very welcome to call me Ruby,” she leaned against the side of the car seductively.

                “Hmm…Is that so?”

                “Yeah,” said Ruby with a grin as she turned around, “especially now, since you know I’m more than just a pretty face,” she kissed her palm and walked back in the direction of the diner. She stopped short and smacked the lipstick stained palm to the taillight with a wink. Before her primal urges could get the best of her, she headed down the street in the opposite direction of the only individual that had the capacity to make an honest woman of her.

Regina watched the figure get smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror as the young beauty that was constantly surprising her, descended down the street. A shiver ran down her spine once she realized she was staring after her, hoping she could catch a glimpse of those honey brown eyes she surprisingly can’t help but get caught in. She could feel the smile itching to cover her face, “that you are.” 

* * *

“Henry! I said be in the car in 5 minutes 10 minutes ago!” Regina called into the house from the garage door. The sounds of silverware dropping, the refrigerator door alarm, and sniffling sent her into a panic. “Henry what are you doing?” now in the kitchen doorframe with her arms folded over her chest. She leaned over and pushed her state of the art Subzero door closed to silence its screeching. Walking around the kitchen island, she followed the sounds of little hands scrubbing. Turning the last corner, she spotted the small teary-eyed boy scrubbing the front of his pants viciously with her dishcloth with one hand and discarding the water dripping from his eyes. The front of his khakis splattered with white oily spots, she looked around his feet and noticed an upside down sour cream container. “Oh Henry,” she sighed and dropped her keys on the island.

“I was trying to be quick mom but the sour cream fell off the top shelf,” he whimpered.

“Honey, why were you in the fridge? I left your lunch clipped to your bookbag, and we were going to Granny’s for breakfast, remember?” She wiped his stained cheeks with her thumbs.

“Sarah Marshall’s favorite food is pasta primavera. I was just going to bring extra so we could share at lunch.” With a heavy sigh, the young man leaned into his adoptive mother’s waist for comfort.

“Is that why you begged me to make it for dinner?” She ran a finger through his hair.

“She’s the prettiest girl in my class and she told me it was her favorite food.” Henry buried his face into her jacket in defeat.

“It’s ok honey,” Regina said with a quick glance at her watch. Time was getting away from her insanely scheduled day. Everything that happens during the day has been planned down to the most particular times. After hitting rock bottom, scheduling her way back to a real life has been her only saving grace. Definitely a stickler for times and order, ultimate control. “Take these off and throw them in the wash, there is another pair of pants folded in the basket on the dryer.” Henry ran off towards the stairwell. _._

“MOM! I DON’T SEE THEM!” Henry shouted from the bottom of the steps almost causing her to drop the heavy glass dish full of pasta.

“I said in the basket Henry!” Regina yelled as she shoveled extra pasta into her son’s Iron Man lunch container. “Stop running!” the sound of quickly approaching feet halted. Zipping up the container, she caught a glimpse of her gold time piece again.

“I’m ready mom.” His wry smile lifted up to the side of his face. He brushed the hair from his face before taking his lunch and bookbag from his mother’s hands. “Let’s go! We don’t want to be late.” Henry stated as he grabbed her keys and headed in the direction of the open garage door. “Yes Sir!” With a fake salute, she was right on his toes pushing him into the back seat of the car and zooming down their suburban street.

By the time the two walked into the diner, Henry had 25 minutes before he had to be inside his classroom. The youngster could feel his mother’s discomfort at being behind schedule with every nervous tap of her fingernails as she ordered French Toast Sticks and orange juice for them. Even at this early age, he knew his mother was a bit obsessive. He was only privy to this information because he noticed that he was the only thing that grounded her. A year ago when he told her that he wanted to find his mother, she pretended to take it well; but as much as he tried to omit it he noticed a change. She became more affectionate than before, always pulling him into a hug when he entered a room or telling him how much she adored him. She began to buy gifts, elaborately decorated boxes would find themselves waiting on his bed when came home from school in an attempt to procure his love. After a month of Regina trying to erase the need for another parent, the quaint family unit received a visit from the lawyer in charge of locating his birth mother during dinner. Rushing to his side in the study, the inquisitive child bombarded the lawyer and his mother with countless inquiries. Dominating the conversation, Henry was so occupied with questions he failed to notice how long his guardian stopped speaking or looking in his direction. It wasn’t until later that night when he was brushing his teeth that he heard her quiet sobs through the wall of their bathrooms.

**_“Mom?” Henry whispered, opening the bathroom door. Finding his mother sitting on the side of her claw-footed tub with her head buried between her hands._ **

**_Startled, Regina turned away and quickly wiped her eyes trying to calm herself. “Yes baby? What is it?” she questioned hesitantly, demurring her current breakdown. His tiny frame collided into hers as frail arms pulled her into a tight embrace. His love and warmth radiated around them as she begged her tears not to fall._ **

**_“Like you always tell me: don’t worry, I’m right here, it’s okay, I’m not going anywhere,” he moved himself to stand between her legs._ **

**_She peered over his head and noticed the red tin box with her favorite straight razor inside sitting on the edge of the sink. It had been calling to her since he embarked on this expedition to find his birth mother. The loathsome habit warring with her sense of self since her teenage years always seemed to find a way to reveal itself in times of intense pain. It sits there, relentlessly taunting her with sweet promises of relief from the feelings that swim around her core threatening to seize the very breath from her lungs. The thoughts that exert her everyday regarding that  she’ll never be good enough and as soon as he finds his real mother he’ll be forced to realize all her imperfections; soon after he would ultimately leave and there will be no one left to love her. The minty wet lips attached to her cheek pulled her from her morose thoughts. “You promise?” Regina asked solemnly as she pulled the boy into her lap and cradling like the baby he used to be._ **

**_Without hesitation he yawned and placed is arms around her neck and answered, “Always.”_ **

The aroma of cinnamon and powdered sugar made both booth occupants fidget with Glee. Henry excited for what was vastly approaching on a silver tray and Regina enamored with the smiling waitress serving them.

“Here you guys go.” Ruby slid the identical plates into their respective spots on the table, “plus, hot syrup!”

“Thanks Ruby!” Henry said with a mouth already full of sugary goodness.

“Henry! Where are your manners?” Regina scolded at the figure in front of her cramming food into his mouth.

“Relax,” Ruby said flashing a smile again. “He’s a growing boy.” She said ruffling his hair with a laugh. “Let him eat.” She winked before stealing a stick of French toast off of her plate. Her hips swayed evenly, acknowledgment of the fact that if she turned around she knew the sophisticated woman would be watching.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The music blaring suddenly from iHome on the nightstand sent a chill floating through the air of the bedroom as it offset the rain falling outside. Ruby had placed her phone in the cradle earlier to bring it back from the edge of death as she made herself comfortable on Regina’s bed.

Initially planning to only visit the Commissioner long enough for small talk and to drop off a portfolio Regina had left behind in the diner booth that morning; yet somewhere between tripping over various conversations and two cups of cider, Ruby found herself coerced into helping Regina organize her closet. Noticing the time on the clock on the dresser, the younger woman was shocked to see it had been three hours since she originally crossed the threshold into the chic mini mansion. Although Regina’s title was only the County Commissioner, her house was impressively the second largest in the city after the Mayor’s.

Now Ruby was sitting Indian style atop of Regina’s bed watching Her Highness organize the closet with a look of amazement plastered over her face. Ruby would have never imagined the woman she only saw for a few moments every week doing menial everyday tasks like this one. For the record, she also never imagined the opportunity to be completing the task along with her. She noticed the atmosphere between the four walls, there was a tranquil feel to what was happening now. They were both overly comfortable, like this had been their routine for years and nothing like reality; since it was Ruby’s first time to walk ten feet past the front door.

 Something was different about Regina lately, Ruby noticed. Her demeanor was relaxed and playful; two things that were completely opposite to her normal façade. Ruby’s pride made her think that it had something to do with the time they’ve shared recently. Unlike the self-proclaimed “good folks” of Storybrooke she took the time to actually hold conversations with the woman, sure they were laced with insults and sarcasm at first but something had blossomed between them.

Everyone in the town seemed so damn frightened of the Comissioner. Though Regina was definitely headstrong and outspoken, it is all within reason but the people in this tiny biosphere viewed her as a shark and a bitch because from the day arrived in town, up she blatantly refused to lie down and play dead. It’s like The Twilight Zone to Ruby sometimes, how the people in Storybrooke only recognized a woman’s role as docile and second to men.

Although the misunderstood woman was continuously ostracized by the chauvinistic community, she was also feared. No one dared to challenge anything Regina said or did, but Ruby from time to time liked to think that her middle name was “Challenge” and not Ashley and enjoyed aggravating the arrogant woman from time to time. Granted that the conversations they hold recently were still packed full of ignominious sarcasm but more often than not it was quickly followed by Regina’s smirks and Ruby’s giggle fits. Ultimately Ruby came to the realization that Regina just needed someone in her corner, and that’s perfectly understandable because we all do.

                To everyone in this town Regina was a raging monarch, ruling her constituents with an iron fist. As her day job, she was the mayor’s enforcer; yet she tended to act more like the mayor than…well…the actual mayor. Inside the fortress of her chic mansion she couldn’t be more regular; not to diminish her status to pedestrian at all, here she was merely more insouciant. Still regal in every move behind these walls hidden from the prying eyes of those who expect so little rather than so much, Ruby found her mesmerizing. Their conversations rolled from topic to topic effortlessly, they felt solace in one another. Unbeknownst to her, Regina was slipping jagged pieces of her soul to the young woman.. There were countless words left unsaid from her regal-ness but the anonymity seemed to be filled in with the story Ruby could sense from deep within Regina’s mahogany eyes.

 As if it could read her mind, the previous song ended as the intro to Lovers’ Eyes by Mumford & Sons began to waft through the room; Ruby smiled to herself. _Wishful thinking_.

                “I thought you were staying to help!” Regina snapped Ruby from her thoughts. She stood in the doorway to her walk-in closet with her arms folded over her chest.

                “Geez! I wouldn’t have agreed if I’d known you were gonna be a slave driver.” Ruby hip checked the smaller woman before walking past her into the closet.

                “Oh please, the most you’ve done is wrinkle my already made bed-”

                “Regina. Your closet is fucking massive,” Ruby cut her off and stood in the center of the floor. “I’ve never even seen you wear half of this stuff.”

                She scoffed and rolled her eyes at the offense, “I have no clue what you’re getting at, and I wear my clothes. I do not have a shopping problem.”

                “That’s rich, coming from the woman who mentioned a shopping problem first! _Ohhh_ ….” Ruby said eyeing all the un-popped tags she was noticing on every three articles of clothing. She leaned down to pick the tag off a pair of tailored mustard pants and recoiled in shock. “You are in big trouble! Eight hundred dollars? Just for a pair of yellow pants? Did these have the model still in them when you bought them?”

                And there is was, Regina laughed. Like really laughed and in that moment Ruby felt like she could bathe in the sound. She wanted to become more than a friend, wanted to be the reason behind that laugh, feel it against her neck while being pressed to her body under miles of covers with fingers and legs intertwined. _Shit. I’m in trouble._ Ruby thought to herself, on the outside flashing her perfect smile. “Ugh, whatever. You are gonna wear at least two new outfits every week.” She started collecting things with the tags still attached making animated noises checking the prices.

                “What?!” Regina said in a panicked voice, “I’m not ready to wear all my new clothes! You can’t make me!” She threatened to tantrum.

                “Seriously?” Ruby laughed out. Regina pouted at the reaction knowing she was lashing out childishly like her son, only her son had the excuse that he was actually a child. “Aww come on. Don’t give me that face. Jesus, your parents let you get away with murder didn’t they?”

                “Ha!” Regina laughed at the question, “only my father.” She smiled softly at the memory. “I was a total daddy’s girl.” She said turning to finish rearranging her blazers.

                Ruby got the hint and started to organize the pants in her arms by color and style. From brightest to darkest and from mid-day movie date with the girls’ casual to last dinner on the Titanic formal. Confident with her work, she moved to stand next to the pile of blouses Regina was building on the floor. “What next? I’m not helping you with this mess you’re creating.”

                “A lady never makes a mess; she just simply has a project that is en route to completion.”  Regina said matter-o-factly with her hands on her hips and a raised eyebrow. Ruby gave her a bored look and rolled her eyes before walking to the wardrobe in the back of her closet.

                “Why do I feel like Narnia is on the other side of this?” Ruby asked over her shoulder.

                “Henry can contest that it isn’t. One night after I rented the movie for us, he snuck in here after I had fallen asleep and climbed in there and waded through my fur coats only to find a wall. Except he found it with his forehead and came out of there crying.” She chuckled at her inquisitive her son could be. A quality that was often getting him in trouble, but she could help but love that part of him.

                “He scared the crap out of you didn’t he?”

                “Are you kidding? I almost died.” Regina grabbed at the fabric covering her heart. “Two o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday and there’s hysterical crying coming from the back of my closet. I had just watched Paranormal Activity…..alone; I was convinced my life was over.”

                Ruby lay on the floor clutching her stomach as she laughed hysterically. While Regina stood over her un-amused, “So my near death experience is comedy to you.” Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes and attempted to stifle her laughter. “I think the dresses need your attention.”

                “Come on! That was hilarious; I wish I could have seen the look on your face.”

                “Ha ha” She said dryly going back to the blouses she was working on reorganizing.

                “Hot damn.” Ruby pulled a black backless Yves Saint Laurent dress pressing it to her body. “Please tell me you have worn this dress outside of Storybrooke.”

                “No, can’t say that I have. I don’t really go anywhere.”

“Put it on.” Ruby shoved it in her direction before turning around to pick up a pair of platform heels. “Ok, now.”

“What?” Confusion clouded Regina’s face.

“Go. Bathroom. Now.” Ruby pushed Regina out of the closet and went to organize the shoes at the base of the closet. “Put on some lipstick so I can see the full effect!” She yelled towards the bathroom, seconds later losing herself in how many amazing shoes Regina possessed; half of them never worn.

 _Ahem._ Regina cleared her throat, announcing her presence. Ruby stood up and turned around to face her masterpiece. Her mouth hung open at the transformation, there stood Regina the sex kitten. Not the business woman or the mom. As if in a cheesy cartoon, Ruby’s jaw fell open. “Do you know how damn gorgeous you are?” The words slip from her mouth in gentle honesty, “You need to wear that dress every…day.” She looked up the length of the mystifying woman who was now attempting to hide the blush creeping up the back of her collar.

“Stop it,” Regina chuckled nervously.

“I would marry the fuck out of you.” She smiled cheekily.

“Marry?” Regina laughed slightly as she walked back into her bedroom to look at herself in the vanity mirror on her dresser. She slid into her best seductive Scarlet O’Hara accent “Why Miss Lucas? You’re moving awfully fast, I’m not that kind of girl. You’re gonna have to court me properly.”

“If you want me to not hit on you,” Ruby said as she pulled a stick of gum out of her pocket and leaned against the closet door frame “I suggest you stay away from hot accents.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Regina shot her a credulous look before rolling her eyes and summoning the strongest Spanish accent she could muster up, “¡Diantre! De rolo, por favor. Echar leña al fuego.”

“Oh God,” the younger woman stepped forward, invading Regina’s personal space and ran her fingers over the hem of the gown. “Please tell me what that means. Did you curse my family? I don’t really care. Do it again.” Ruby flashed her most sincere puppy dog eyes.

Regina could feel goosebumps rippling all over her thighs in the patterns her fingertips traced. “Stop, silly.” She managed to say smoothly while locking her fingers around Ruby’s wrist. The pad of her thumb began to caress the skin under its touch; the velvety softness of her skin catching her by surprise. Unable to help herself, she began trailing her fingertips over the exposed skin on Ruby’s forearm. In an instant she realized what she had been doing. As she started to voice an apology for overstepping her boundaries, her heels teetered slightly against the carpet before Ruby placed an arm around her waist to steady her. “Thank you,” she said with a sheepish smile. The grip around her middle tightened and she slipped closer to the other woman.

Up close, Regina was captivated by Ruby’s features as she looked into bright honeyed eyes shining wild with gentle flecks of green. A gentle sigh escaped her as she noted the visibly soft skin across high cheekbones, and the invitingly plump and supple lips that she’d give anything to fall into. Drifting towards each other, Regina could feel the spearmint scented breath of the brunette holding her hosting across her wet lips. She felt as if her heart would explode from anticipation before she took matters into her own hands and closed the gap.

SLAM.

“Moooom! I’m home!” The innocent voice called from the bottom of the stairs. Regina practically leapt from the taller woman’s embrace. “The field was flooded, so no practice until next week!” The voice said moving towards another end of the house.

“I’m sorry!” Regina threw her hands up in a whispered apology. “I have to start dinner,” she said straightening her posture and leaving a stunned Ruby in her wake. Racing down the stairs she found her son in the kitchen slicing himself I slice of lemon cake. “Uh-uh,” she pulled the knife from his hands and closed the glass covering.

“But mom, it’s already cut!” He pleaded.

“Yeah mom, it’s already cut.” Ruby walked into the kitchen and sat on the stool next to the Henry.

“Hey Ruby! What are you doing here?” The boy asked rubbing his shoulder against her arm.

“Miss Lucas agreed to help me organize my closet.” Regina wedged herself into the friendly moment they were having with one another.

“Why? Is she staying for dinner?” He shot his mother a begging smile.

“You’d have to ask her Henry, but I’m sure she’s a busy woman.”

Smiling, the woman took the conversational cue and stood, “sorry kid, maybe next time. I have to go rehearse and film my show.”

“Can I come?!” He looked longingly at Ruby and then his mother.

“How about we schedule a day with your mom later this week when you can come by to rehearsal and maybe we’ll put you in next week’s show?” Ruby said, rubbing his hair.

“Ok!” He squealed before disappearing down the stairs into their den.

“Here’s my number,” she snatched the dry-erase marker magnetized to the door and writing out the digits. “For Henry,” Ruby paused and signed her name with a heart at the end of the ‘y’. “…and you,” she breathed longingly and looked over to the conflicted woman and let herself out of the side glass door before the older woman could utter a word. 

* * *

 

“Sup bitches!” Ruby sang while adjusting the camera. “oops! Sorry, you guys aren’t bitches. That was totally rude, we love our fans!” Pulling her hair into a messy bun on top of her head and smiled lazily into the direction of the camera. Her eyes were a deep shade of red and her lids were barely open. “So sorry,” she giggled “we blazed like 20 minutes ago and I am politely faded. So this week’s broadcast is brought to you by the ever potent Alaskan Thunderfuck.”

“And Lime-a-Ritas!” A voice called out from the hallway behind the camera. Ariel Sears made her way to the rolling chair beside her best friend, caramel colored fingers extending to pass over the tall glass filled with fizzy alcoholic contents. She pulled her long red dreads to the side, letting them hang over her shoulder in an elaborate French braid. “Hey!” She said sporting a lazy smile identical to her partner in crime. “We know you guys get restless if we don’t start on time, but Robbie is stuck in traffic. So we are gonna give you some pre show! Cuz it ain’t no fun if the homies can’t get some.”

Ruby laughed obnoxiously, spitting out green liquid onto the floor. “Oh my god, shut up.” She said wiping at her face.

“Haha! No. Dear fans, Ruby won’t let me know anything about this girl she’s hot for. The only thing I know is that she’s older than her.” Ariel flexed a disapproving eyebrow in her friend’s direction, “You should write in and make her tell us! If we get more than 50 requests for her to spill then she has no choice but to give us some info!” The young woman’s green eyes sparkled with deviance as the chat feature to their livestream began to make a popping noise signifying viewers signing in.

“Oh my gah!” Ruby smacked her forehead against the table. “Please! Don’t turn on me! You guys are supposed to be on my side!” She pleaded, “how about this, if we get more than 50 requests I’ll sing the song that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since me and Ari sang it to each other on the phone last night.” The popping sound began to come in faster through the speakers with a crescendo and instantly Ruby knew she was saved. “You down? Cuz I win, obviously.”

“Oh, fuck you. Well played.” Ari laughed at the distressed face on the woman to her left.

“Yesss! I won! I love you guys.” Ruby grinned and began a victory dance. “Ok, so the song that has been haunting me is Tori Kelly and Angie Girl’s ‘Thinking Bout You’ cover. I hope this isn’t terrible.” She laughed softly and picked up the chocolate colored acoustic guitar. Skilled fingers strummed a soft introduction, deep tones vibrated off the walls filling the room.

“Also, before she starts, spread the word of our show guys! For the next few months the Fairytale Rejects Show will be aired regularly on the first Wednesday of the month. And that’s enough of this shameless plug.” She said with a laugh as she placed her Boston Red Sox snapback on Ruby’s head.

Adorning the blacked out Ray Ban sun glasses, Ruby took a deep breath and began to sing. Bobbing their heads in unison to the guitar’s tones and Ariel’s beat boxing ticks, Ruby began to croon the smooth hip-hop tune. They couldn’t help but fight the smile over what has been their constant connection since childhood, music.

  
 _Yes, of course_  
I remember, how could I forget?  
How you feel   
You know you were my first time  
A new feel  
It won't ever get old, not in my soul,  
Not in my spirit, keep it alive  
We'll go down this road  
'Til it turns from color to black and white  
  
Or do you not think so far ahead?  
'Cause I've been thinkin' 'bout forever

“Good sound, baby sis.” A deep voice called from the doorway. The crown of his head barely missing the top of the door frame, he dropped the gym bag he was holding and took off his jacket. “I see you guys started without me.”

“Robbie!!!!!” Ruby screamed as she leapt from her chair onto his back, “you’re back! I’ve missed you.”

“No you haven’t,” He said prying her arms from around his neck and setting her back on the ground. “You just want someone to take the heat off of your ass from Granny.”

“Sup Robinhood,” Ariel said with a grin before extending her fist. She always knew how to cut deep, his real name.

“What’s up Princess?” He said bumping his fist against hers. Their relationship was based off the desire to constantly one-up each other.  And by the look of outrage on the younger woman’s face that he had the nerve to mention her middle name in front of the camera, he currently had the upper hand.

“Shut up. Before either of you start.” Ruby said plainly before returning to her seat in front of the computer. “Ok, while Robbie set’s up I guess we’ll do the Ruby Raps segment of the show.” She cued a laugh track, “For you new viewers out there on the World Wide Web, this is the part of the show where I basically make an ass of myself by rapping a verse from my favorite song of the week. You can go to our YouTube page and see clips from some of the songs I’ve already done; here goes!” She said as the instrumental began.

“Whaaaaaaaat?” Ariel said with a tone that sounded like excitement mixed with disbelief.

“Yep! Fuck wit me. Here’s ‘Versace’ by Drake.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey M, I haven’t talked to you in like two weeks.” Ruby said glumly into the receiver attached to her chin. In sad actuality, Ruby knew it had been exactly 22 days since she’d heard her best friend and former lover’s voice and the simple white lie she used was to selfishly to soothe her own mending heartache. “If I don’t hear back from you I’m just going to assume that David has somehow fucked you to death and that means I get to keep the Michael Kors watch you left over here, and I’m taking back those purple Ralph Lauren jeans I bought for you. They look better on me anyway, bye.” Conjoined at the hip since her first day of Storybrooke Elementary, Ruby and Mary Margaret Blanchard had been self proclaimed best friends from the time they both walked through the doors of their third grade class wearing the same glittery princess backpack.

The two young girls quickly adopted the nickname “gruesome twosome”, a name given to them by Ruby’s grandmother and Mary Margaret’s mother earnestly one day as they both attempted to clean paint splatters out of the girls’ hair. Through any situation, Mary Margaret remained the easiest source of joy from not only her doting parents but everyone else in the town. Even at a infantile age, she was always the most sought after and most popular girl in their small city; something that would give the next girl an ego the size of Texas but Mary Margaret remained ever the humble princess. At the age of 10, she unexpectedly lost her mother to cervical cancer. The transition to life without the woman who was the light of family’s life was a tough road to travel. The friendship that was founded in lighter times only became stronger in an era of darkness; a valued strength that was unfortunately tested when Ruby’s mother Anita fell victim to a fatal car crash two years later.

Yet as much as you will it to stop, life goes on and the two youngsters continued their journey into the next phase of their life. On the easiest day, high school was hard; no matter when or where the school is located. Essentially organized to feel like failure, it is set during the most difficult age range of adolescence. The age where children no longer saw themselves as children but as young adults and adults still viewed them as children. Four years where a student’s success was based off of materialistic values and social propaganda. In high school, you are under the misconception that you know how the world works and what it takes to be a functioning adult; while your parents are trying to break it to you (some in a more stern approach than others) that in reality, you don’t know shit.

Ruby spent her high school years pissing off her grandmother, getting in trouble with the law, and secretly pining for her best friend’s affections. As the two began to grow up together, Ruby began to take notice of her sexuality and how it was different from the other girls at her school. Instead of posters of shirtless boy bands solely covering her walls like in Mary Margaret’s room, Ruby found herself putting up inserts from issues of Sports Illustrated stolen from her older brother’s room while he went off to college in Massachusetts. As she struggled with coming into her sexuality, the lanky brunette came to a personal revelation: she was in love with Mary Margaret. Yet she had no clue as to how to tell the one person she counted on the most throughout her life that she wanted to be with them romantically. She lost some friends already on her journey out of the closet; she couldn’t bear to lose the one that mattered more than the rest.

Over the remainder of their final year at Storybrooke High, Ruby began to subtly show her partner in crime what it would be like to be courted by her. Ruby surprised her with gifts, took her on unofficial dates, let her drive her car, and made her home cooked meals. The summer after graduation sent their relationship on a pivotal journey. Although they usually spent hours upon hours in each other’s company, as they realized that only one of them was venturing off to college, the dynamic of their relationship changed. As the season began it’s slow progression into the next, their hugs lasted a little longer, hands held tighter, and the ghost of kisses that never came became harder and harder to ignore. Yet Ruby was the perfect gentleman. Mary Margaret wanted for nothing while secretly Ruby wanted for everything; especially for the woman to realize how special Ruby considered her and how much she was in love. But the moment never presented itself, and the two women began to start their adulthood leading down different paths.

 As Mary Margaret flitted through her first year at the University of Main at Augusta, Ruby lingered in Storybrooke helping her grandmother with the family business. She kept up the charade of overzealous best friend while Mary Margaret remained “oblivious” to Ruby’s intentions. More and more the humble princess began to use the lanky teen’s feelings and antics against her. Unhappy with the campus living conditions, Mary Margaret moved into an apartment a few miles from school, and with no job or source of income she turned to Ruby for help. Without hesitation, the smitten woman began to pick up extra shifts and odd side jobs to help keep her friend happy. After furnishing the dwelling and sending the young woman money whenever she could for bills and groceries she began to be the punching bag whenever Mary Margaret seemed to be stressed. Never outright mean the woman’s passive aggressive attitude forced Ruby to feel like she wasn’t doing enough and that they would never have their chance at happiness.

After a tearful heart to heart, Ruby came to the conclusion that the only reason Mary Margaret was having a hard time away at college was because she didn’t know she had someone at home who was waiting for her; someone who’s been hopelessly devoted to her for as long as she could remember. At the urge of her other best friend of 10 years, Ariel, Ruby was soon burning gas to travel up and down the highway to the distance between she and the smaller woman away at school to tell her exactly how she felt. In the wee hours of the morning she road tripped to Mary Margaret’s apartment to confess her unyielding love, but upon arrival the brunette experienced something she hadn’t planned for.

**_“Pick up M! Pick. Up. Mar. pickuppickuppickup.” Ruby said tapping her knee nervously as she pulled into a parking space at the off campus housing and dialed Mary Margaret’s cell phone for the third time, no luck. The housing development was dark and eerily quiet, beside’s the fact that it was 4am. There was a weird static in the air that Ruby couldn’t explain. She felt as if fate was trying to tell her something but she just chalked it up to nerves. Breathing deep, the young beauty attempted to calm herself as she got out of the car and walked up to the apartment door and began to knock. After a few moments of various knocking crescendos, Ruby came to the realization that her quest was turning into a dud since she was missing the main focus of this visit. Great, fucking great, she’s not even here. She yawned; the adrenalin she was running on during the hour and a half drive began to diminish by the millisecond._ **

**_Just as she decided to turn around and head to her car for a power nap a red Ford truck pulled up to the drive. Ruby ducked to the side of the entryway out of sight as soon as she noticed two people in the vehicle kissing each other goodbye, trying not to ruin someone’s walk of shame. She could hear a deep voice call something she couldn’t quite catch out of the window of the car. The click clack of approaching heels slowed to a stop as a woman’s voice responded with an “I love you too,” a very familiar voice._ **

**_“Mar?” Ruby asked coming out of her hiding place, her voice heavy with betrayal._ **

**_“Ah!” Mary Margaret screamed in shock as she turned around to see who her late night visitor was. “Ruby?” She said with quiet guilt, “what are you doing here? It’s like four in the morning?”_ **

**_“I’m such a fucking idiot.” The color drained from her face as budding anger straightened her spine.  “I’m so stupid, how could I ever think that you were the girl for me?” She let out a nervous laugh, her emotions clearly going haywire. “You are too fucking self centered to even notice how much I’m head over heels in love with you! What the fuck was that?” She pointed a finger lividly in the direction of the parking lot, “Who is he? You haven’t even told me about this guy?” Her trembling hand sunk into her jacket pocket, as her eyes begged the flabbergasted woman in front of her to speak._ **

**_“That was David, I told you about him.” Mary Margaret said apprehensively. A few awkward beats passed between them, as she looked up from the hole she was staring into the ground and realized that that small fraction of information was not sufficient, “From the…school I’m student teaching at,” she stuttered out._ **

**_Ruby’s calm resolve broke with each syllable the other woman spoke, “I’m bending over backwards trying to give you the life you want, giving you every available part of me and you’re fucking your married boss?!” Ruby screamed in disbelief. “Are you even serious right now Mary Margaret?”_ **

**_“I didn’t ask for you to do any of that.” The pixie haired brunette stated at almost a whisper._ **

**_“Can you honestly sit there and claim to be that oblivious to how I felt about you, Mar?” Ruby took a step forward ignoring her statement and grabbed her friend’s hand.  She brought the pale knuckles to her lips, “I’m terrible with words, and you know that. I was so scared that if I told you how crazy I was for you you’d separate yourself from me. I can’t handle losing someone else I love.”_ **

**_“I’d never-,” Mary Margaret attempted to interject._ **

**_“So I was the perfect girlfriend for you. Everything you needed, I was that. My happiness depended on yours. Anything you wanted, I was there with it. Shit you didn’t know you wanted, stuff nobody has ever done for you, I was there!” Deep mahogany eyes shone with angry tears threatening to spill over the sides._ **

**_“But I didn’t ask you for any of that.” Mary Margaret’s voice echoed from the ceiling of the awning they were standing under._ **

**_“I fucking know that! You didn’t have to! We never have to ask anything of each other.” The hurt spewing from Ruby’s voice was forceful enough to send a chill through the smaller woman’s body. “I was yours without request.” She said morosely, “I didn’t ask to fall in love with you, either. I used to think you were my happy ending; you were just a nightmare in pretty packaging.” The taller woman pushed past the speechless woman and jumped into her car. Her mind was running rampant; it wasn’t until an hour later that she even realized that the wetness around her collar was from shed tears._ **

 

Ruby sat stone still, her heart still ached at the memory. Even though the four years have passed, the two women found themselves still trying to patch their friendship back up. But with Mary Margaret’s attention elsewhere, sometimes Ruby felt as if they were trying to put a puzzle together in a storm. She admired her relationship with David simply because he was the one who got to wake up to her every morning…now that his divorce was final. They got to love someone, overcome obstacles, and actually have a relationship work. When these days all Ruby could manage to love was drugs and partying. She told herself that she wasn’t cut out for love, she didn’t know how to do it right and what’s left of her heart couldn’t take anymore torment; so she’d quit while she was ahead. Only recently has her heart faked bravado when in the vicinity of another, _Regina_. As she sat the vintage office phone back into its cradle, her iPhone vibrated announcing a new txt message.

Ari: Any sign of life?

Ruby: Ugh. Not even a little. -__- 3 weeks

Ari: Don’t stress; plenty of fish in the sea.

Ruby: Fuck that. I want this fish.

Ari: lol, what’s so special about this fish?

Ruby: I’ll let you know when I find out.

Ari: lol, I guess.

Ruby: ……what if I’m going crazy and she’s just not that into me? I was sure I felt chemistry the other day. We almost kissed! Jfc!

Ari: Almost doesn’t count.

Ruby: Thanks for being my reality check -__- dream killer. Lol

Ari: lol Anytime. But forreal, she’d have to be crazy not to like you.

Ruby: Then why is she avoiding me like the plague?

Ari: ……lol your breath

Ruby laughed heartedly at the joke, so loud that she didn’t see her grandmother in the doorway of the back office standing there sporting a disapproving glare. “I’m glad to see you’re having fun on your break.”

                “Not as fun as I have with you at home,” Ruby said with a wry smile, standing and motioning to her grandmother to come sit in the seat she just inhabited. As soon as the matriarch let out a relaxing sigh, Ruby laid herself across her lap.

                “I bet you say that to all the grandmothers,” she said with a laugh.

                “Nope, only my granny,” Ruby said wrapping her arms around the woman’s shoulders. Leaning her head onto Granny’s shoulder, she unconsciously let out a sigh and closed her eyes. After the untimely death of her father Grayson Lucas in a warehouse fire, this position is where she feels the most at peace; wrapped up in the arms of the woman who refused to lose her only granddaughter to the harsh realities of the world.

“Uh huh, you okay little red?” Her grandmother asked as she stroked Ruby’s hair. Eugenia gave her the nickname when she was an infant; because all she did was cry and even after she was done her scrunched little face would remain fire engine red for hours.

“Yeah, I’m fine Granny.” Ruby gave the woman a reassuring smile, the sparing use of the moniker always warmed her heart and gave her renewed hope; it made her notice how much she’s grown up.

“Good,” The old woman said cheekily pushing her granddaughter to her feet. “AJ’s late coming from school I need you to deliver a late lunch order.”

* * *

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._ Regina repeated to herself as she banged the jammed stapler against the edge of the desk.This past month has been filled with craziness. She thought over all the things she had to get completed by the following month, groaning internally at the few tasks that appeared out of nowhere and somehow ended up on her already crowded plate. With the new re-zoning project that she spearheaded when she originally had the time was up for its quarterly update, the permit approvals flooding her desk for those who are fighting like crabs in a bucket for a space at the new shopping center that was scheduled to break ground at the end of the month, and the business proposal she was developing for the start up of a Entrepreneur/Small Business fair in two weeks she barely had time to blink. And as of two days ago, she now has to deal with the Mayor’s new building policy ideas that he wanted implemented before his retirement, _probably just to be a pain in my ass_. She barely had time to blink, sleep, or most importantly eat. _I quit, I need a vacation_. Just then her stomach made a dying whale noise. _Crap, I forgot to eat again._ She thought to herself as she slammed her forehead against her desk.

“Should I come back?” Ruby questioned quietly from the doorway.

“What?” Regina’s head snapped up in the direction of the voice, ready to annihilate whoever had the audacity to intrude on her mini breakdown. 

“I have your lunch order; the note says to leave it on the desk.” She began to frown slightly, as she noticed the woman’s facial expression in front of her didn’t change. “I didn’t know anyone would be in here. I’m sorry for not knocking. Here’s your southwestern grilled chicken salad with extra corn and tortilla strips.” Ruby placed the plastic to-go back with the aforementioned contents gently on the desk and turned on her heel. “I’m gonna go GPS the nearest cliff and jump off, ok? Hope you have a great day.”

“Miss Lucas wait,” Regina stood and moved to the other side of the desk. She smiled softly, “I’m the ‘suffer in silence’ type. I wasn’t expecting anyone to walk through my door.”

“I apologize, I should have knocked anyway. My Granny gets on me about how I have some false sense of entitlement so I just barge myself into places and situations without invitation.” She tucked a few pesky brown locks behind her ear and gave her most honest smile.

“That certainly does sound like something Eugenia would say,” she chuckled to herself and leaned against the corner of her desk. “But it’s perfectly okay, that’s not what I meant when I said I wasn’t expecting to be interrupt. No one dares to come to my office other than my assistant and the Mayor. I gave my assistant the afternoon off and unfortunately Mayor Spencer is on his annual golf trip. People usually avoid my office at all costs, especially when they know I’m here alone. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it makes for an easy work day. You’re lucky I don’t work here.” Ruby said making herself comfortable on the gray loveseat in the corner of the office. “You wouldn’t be able to get rid of me.”

“I’m sure.” She laughed grabbing the bag and sitting next to the younger woman. She sighed in contentment as the smell of seasoned chicken wafted towards her from the opened Styrofoam container. She tried to hide the joy fighting it’s way to her face, this is been the easiest ten minutes of her work quarter and that’s not including the stress induced nap she took between meetings on last Wednesday. “Thank you for bringing me lunch Miss Lucas; I have missed Granny’s food.”

“I know we’re in your office and you are the boss lady in here, but you have to stop calling me Miss Lucas.” She smiled, “brings back too many memories of the principal’s office.”

Brown orbs flashed at the mention of her colorful past. “Sorry, I’ve been stuck in this building working like a Keebler elf; I barely have time to go home and feed my son let alone myself. I’ve forgotten how to be comfortable.”

“That blows,” Ruby laid her arm across the back of the couch. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve basically given myself whiplash from looking at the door every time someone opens it hoping it’s you.”

“Well, I’m glad someone noticed my absence.” The Latina smiled earnestly, “Thank you again for surprising me with lunch.”

“Oh, I’m just delivering. You place an order?” Ruby searched her pockets for the receipt and name on the order. “This is 424, right?” she scanned the small slip of paper for a name. “Do you know a J. Cruise?”

“That’s my assistant.” Regina let go of the breath she wasn’t aware she was holding; she probably would have cried if she had to give away the meal. “He must’ve ordered it on his way out of the door. He kind of screamed at me yesterday because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.”

“You’re not eating?!” Ruby said in disbelief.

“Too busy,” she said between chews. She moaned as the sustenance made it’s way to her eager stomach. “This is better than sex.” She smiled at the woman who was watching her with rapt attention.

“….you’re not having the right kind of sex.”

“Ha, I’m not having any sex.” She closed her eyes at the admission. _Did I just say that out loud?_ “Please excuse me; hunger is apparently making me delirious.” Regina apologized, trying to hide the embarrassment coloring her cheeks by stuffing more food into her mouth.

“Oh,” Ruby bit the corner of her lip. “So I’m the only one fortunate enough to be trapped in the drought.”

“I….don’t kn-” Regina’s stammered rebuttal was cut short by the ringing of her cell phone in her pocket. “I’m so sorry, but I have to take this.” _THANK GOD._ She stood and placed the half eaten salad on the desk.

“Yeah, no problem; I’ll just see myself out.” Ruby stood and made her way to the door. “Don’t work yourself too hard Regina,” The taller woman called over her shoulder.

“Hey Kath, hold on a sec.” Regina said, placing her hand over the receiver.

“Ruby, I told Henry that we’d make pizza for dinner tonight. Did you want to come over?”

“More than I’d care to admit, I’m off at 6. Is that too late?” She smiled shyly trying to hide the butterflies swarming around her belly.

“No, it’s perfect. See you then.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Tell me how you like the chapter. I don’t know how I feel about it. But KJ loves it lol. And In the words of my first reader this is “just a bit of fluff and pizza” . Hope you like 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own shit. Especially not OUAT or it’s characters

             

* * *

  “And then I said that I would give her a passing grade if she let me bend her over the desk.” The voice on the other line said with a huff.

                “Uh huh,” Regina said instinctively as she placed the groceries on the counter.

                “Coraline,” there was a barely audible growl from the other end. Over their lifetime, the two women formed a bond closer than sisters. They reserved the right to use each other’s middle names in times of intense seriousness.

                “I’m sorry. I don’t know when I stopped listening.” She sighed, at the acknowledgement of her scattered thoughts.

                “What’s wrong honey? Is everything alright down there, you’re acting very peculiar. I must say I’m not a fan of your preoccupied antics tonight. It hurts my feelings”

                “Everything’s fine Kathryn,” The brunette said with a laugh as she removed the contents from the paper grocery bags. “I’m just trying to figure out what I’m doing for dinner.”

                “You’re making pizza. It’s just pizza, the easiest thing you make.” The woman on the other line huffed, “You even bought those overpriced balls of that dough we lik-..” She paused as a revelation crossed her mind, “You have a date! You’re not just cooking for you and Henry but somebody is coming over that you are trying to impress!”

                The brunette dropped the last of the produce on the marble with a thud and gasped, “Now how in the hell did you figure that out?”

                “Clairvoyance,” the young woman deadpanned. “I have known you for over half of your life; I know when you’re freaking out about something. You start becoming overly indecisive and damn it I don’t know, I can just tell.” There was silence on the line before the other woman gasped, “and you weren’t even gonna tell me!”

                “I don’t _freak out_ , and I would have told you if this was _actually_ a date.”

                “I’m calling bullshit,” she clicked her tongue in distaste. “This is a date, it’s a safe date because my godson will be there; but it is a date none the less. You tell me everything, even though there’s really nothing to tell about your less than stellar sex life.”

                “Thank you for the reminder,” Regina huffed as she sat at the stool to the side of the kitchen island. “I seem to have no problem getting you on _your_ back.” She said with the flip of a hair as if the woman were in her presence. The woman on the other line seemed to be shocked into silence as Regina began to watch the clock above the fridge and wondering how long it would take her companion to find the mental strength to come back to her comment; 45 seconds.

                “…well played.”

                “Always keep an ace up your sleeve,” she chuckled.  “I believe you taught me that, dear.”

                “It certainly sounds like me,” Kathryn laughed heartedly lightening the mood. “So, who is this mystery person? He must really be something…” Her voice trailed off as the sense of déjà vu swarmed over her like a second skin; they’d done this song and dance before. Seeming like a lifetime ago, Regina had shown the same anxious tendencies over a guy she couldn’t manage to get out of her mind. Kathryn could hear her friend’s breath slow to an eerie level as she realized they shared the same thought. “Regina,” she said concerned with her friend’s sudden withdrawal.

                “…I’m here.” Regina said barely above a whisper as she stared off in thought.

                “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to ruin your night.” The sound of Kathryn slapping her palm over her forehead echoed through the phone.

                “Its fine Abby,” she let out a sigh. “Really, it is.”

                “Regina…” Kathryn said calmly. “You can do this. He obviously makes you happy if you guys are about to have dinner with Henry.” She sighed, “I want you to find happiness again love. It’s almost been 10 years; Daniel would’ve wanted you to be happy.”

                “I know,” Regina looked off out of the kitchen window and began to finger the gold ring attached to the simple chain over her heart.

                “Want to talk about something completely unrelated?” Kathryn tried to regain control of the conversation.

                “Please?” Regina said with a smile, noticing her friend’s effort to try and pull her from the dark thoughts crowding her mind.

                “I have a hot new intern,” She said giddily, “She’s so fucking cute! Ugh, but she’s also phenomenal with the work she puts in. I can’t sleep with her and end up losing her.”

                “I thought you were done corrupting children,” Regina laughed. “Giving you a job at a college was not a smart idea on the university’s end. I swear if you were a man you’d most likely have half of their underclassman with child,” she quipped.

                “Not true,” she scoffed. “If that were the case, then I’d have to be reciprocating their sexual acts.”

                “Ha! So you are out on Berkeley’s campus having a bunch of these fledglings top you and then putting them out, Abigail…” Regina scolded with the shake of her head.

                “Quit it with the guilt trip, they love it. I’m very straightforward with them when I let them know that it’s not going to happen. I’m not in the place to give that part of me over again, the ink isn’t dry on my divorce papers yet.”

                “I understand that, but you cannot play with these people’s hearts.”

                “Look who’s talking! Oh please, it wasn’t too long ago when you had that cute little Sherriff wrapped around your pretty little finger.”

                “That’s bes-” Regina’s retort was cut short by the sound of the doorbell. She looked at the time on her watch in disbelief. “Shit, she’s here. I haven’t done a thing since I got home.”

                “Did you say “she”? Call me back tonight! Geeze, I’m so excited and it’s not even my date, bye. Don’t screw this up.”

                Regina walked into the foyer, “Thanks, I’ll try. Call you later.” She smoothed the invisible wrinkles on her skirt and blouse in a last minute effort to calm her nerves and opened the door.  The warm spring breeze rushed through the door pushing her hair into her face. “Hi,” she said as she moved the pesky locks of hair from her line of vision. Within an instant Regina was stunned into silence, in front of her was the tall brunette wearing a black leather jacket, tight fitting red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled high to expose gold bangles lining her left arm forearm, and even tighter black jeans. _Damn_. Regina gave her a slow once over, from the gentle curls lining her pale face to the combat boots she sported. She cleared her throat once she realized she had been gawking and completely missed the young woman’s response.

                “Hey Ruby!” Henry shouted over his mother’s shoulder as he ran from the bottom of the stairs to the door.

                “Hey kid,” Ruby said with a smile. “I brought over some blueberry cheesecake ice cream that I made earlier today.” She extended the white paper bag to him that was clutched under her arm.

                “Uh-uh.” Regina intercepted the frozen treat before he could get his hands on it. “After dinner we can all share.”

                “But moooom just a little please?” The small boy pleaded.

                “Yeah Regina, just a little?” Ruby gave her best puppy dog eyes, in hopes to sway the older woman’s answer.

                “Absolutely not; no to the both of you.” Regina said with a smirk. “And you’re gonna have to try a little harder Miss Lucas, I have hefty experience in denying my eight year old of things he shouldn’t have.” She placed her hand on her hip and flexed an eyebrow before shaking her head. “You didn’t even say please.”

               

* * *

                  “Come in Ruby,” Regina motioned towards the kitchen as she waited for Ruby to cross the threshold. “Henry, go wash up so we can get started, I bought a bunch of your favorites.” She said as she disappeared through the kitchen door. The brunet shot a quick fist pump into the air before heading to the steps.

                “Pssst!” She whispered to the boy looking in the direction that the older woman disappeared to; checking to see if the coast was clear. Ruby pulled a small white container out of her pocket and tossed it to the unsuspecting child. “I had a feeling she was gonna say no. It’s just a scoop, but at least you don’t have to wait until after dinner.” She smiled at him as he tore off the top and stuck his face to the opening. “Hurry up! Or she’ll catch on. You don’t want me to get into trouble right?”

The boy flashed a toothy smile and whispered, “thank you” before he took off up the stairs two at a time in the direction of his bedroom. Ruby laughed to herself and opened the kitchen door. Looking around the room, she noticed how immaculate and state of the art the kitchen was; Granny would be so jealous. She scanned the counter at the variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats lined up. “Looking good,” she said as the smaller woman reappeared from behind the refrigerator door holding bags of shredded cheese.

“Why thank you,” Regina said with a blush.

There was an awkward pause, “I was actually talking about all the toppings for the pizza. But you’re looking beautiful as always.” She smiled trying to lighten the mood after seeing the woman tense. _Great job, you should have just went with it._

“I’m so embarrassed,” she ducked her head back behind the refrigerator door.

“No, come out of there.” Ruby said with a chuckle as she grabbed the woman’s small wrist and pulled her over to her chest. “Don’t be embarrassed,” she said pulling the woman’s chin so that she her eyes stopped looking everywhere but where she wanted them to. For a second, Ruby felt mesmerized by the dark shimmering of her chestnut eyes. “I should be embarrassed, because if I was going to compliment you on your beauty I would hope you’d think it would be with something a little classier than ‘looking good’.”

“You are so full of it,” Regina said with an eye roll before detaching herself from Ruby’s grip. “What is taking that boy so long? I just told him to wash his hands.”

“Well, that’s one way to look at it,” she smirked.

“I’m right here mom.” Henry padded into the kitchen and climbed up on the stool at the end of the kitchen island. He began to rub his hands greedily as he took into account of all the meats, veggies, and cheese spread out.

“Oh goodness, let’s get started before he dehydrates from all the drool he just produced.” Regina mused softly as she placed a kiss to his right temple. She placed a ball of dough in front of the three of them and gave instructions. “Just roll this out as flat as you want your pizza, then roll up the corners to give the pizza some shape and to make your crust.”

“Mom, I’m really hungry.”

“Is that code for you would like me to do it for you?” Regina asked as she folded the edges of her rolled out dough over.

“How in the hell did you do that so fast?” Ruby asked as she looked down at her misshapen product.

“Language, Miss Lucas.” Regina warned in a motherly tone.

“Oops, sorry Henry.” Ruby apologized.

“It’s cool, nothing I haven’t heard before.” Henry said reassuringly as he began to pour pizza sauce onto his creation.

“You too?” She looked over at how his masterpiece began to take shape then at the woman in front of her trying to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah, we do this all the time; especially when my Godmother comes into town. You’ve never made pizza?” He questioned with the tilt of his head.

“No,” she admitted with a frown.

“Do want me to teach you dear?” Regina said walking over to Ruby’s side of the island.

“Please?”

“And to think you’re in the food industry, come on.” Regina said handing her rolling pin to the younger woman and stepping behind her. She put her arms out around Ruby and grabbed the wooden utensil, “First, you’re going to do it like this. As you push down, try to angle the roller so that you are basically making a circle. Don’t make it too flat unless you want crust as thin as a cracker.”

“That’s…good enough” Ruby stuttered out as the heat from the other woman’s closeness caused a ripple of goosebumps to spring up over her arm. “Is it hot in here?”

“The oven’s on.” Regina stated as she stepped back and walked over to check on her son’s progress .She winked over her shoulder before returning to her own project.

“Right,” Ruby said as she tried to pull her thoughts from the path they were taking to the gutter. “Henry, what’s on your pizza? What should I put on mine?”

“I have bacon, cheese, broccoli, pepperoni, pineapples, and barbecue sauce.” He said proudly.

“Eww, pineapples and barbecue sauce?” Ruby questioned as he shrugged and placed his pizza on a silver pan.

“Yes, Henry likes his pizza sweet.”

“Oh, what’s on yours?”

“I have broccoli, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, pepperoni, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. I think that’s all.”

“That sound’s amazing.” Ruby said as she tried to copy the other woman’s pizza. “And to think, I thought you were just gonna stick a DiGiorno in the oven.”

.“What?” Regina said taken aback by the younger woman’s thoughts. “Is that a frozen pizza brand? I’m offended”

“Mom’s never even had frozen pizza.” Henry said as he looked over to Ruby with a laugh at his mother’s reaction.

“Seriously?” Ruby said joining in on the laughter.

“Yes, _seriously_. It’s got so many unhealthy and processed byproducts in it, eww,” Regina shuddered as she put both pizzas on circular granite stones. “Ok, now they’ll go into the oven for fifteen minutes. Henry, do you want to go downstairs and pick out a game to play with Ruby while I clean this mess up?”

“Sure!” He said climbing down and running out of the kitchen leaving Ruby in his wake.

“You sure you got it? I could totally help; I can call up Granny as a reference.” Ruby said as she rushed to hold the refrigerator door open.

“Yes Ruby, you’re a guest. I’ll have this done in five minutes; it’s like my second job.”

“Ahh supermom,” Ruby said picking up used silverware and putting them next to the sink as the older brunette made soapy water. “That has to be my favorite quality of yours,” she said honestly with a grin.

“And here I thought it was my backside, since I tend to catch you with your eyes averted down instead of at my face.”

“So you caught me,” Ruby said as she tried to rub away the red creeping up over her shoulders before it could reach her face. “You already know that you have the body of a goddess, but what I admire is how you manage to be a single mom and carry the world on your shoulders while making it look so effortless.” She stared at the ground, discomfited at her admission. Regina stood there silent, arms elbow deep in dishes and foamy water. Ruby looked up to study the emotion floating through brown orbs.

“…thank you Ruby.” Regina stated softly, a genuine smile crawling over her features. “I promise you, it’s not easy. I’m genuinely surprised I don’t leave my house every morning looking half crazy.”

“I doubt you could look crazy.” Ruby said as she hoisted herself to sit on the counter space next to the sink.

“Actually, I think I can pull crazy off very well.” The smaller brunette chuckled to herself. “You don’t get to see me between the hours of 9 and 6 in the morning.”

“Is that an invitation?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Tell me how you like the chapter. I don’t know how I feel about it. But KJ loves it lol. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own shit. Especially not OUAT or it’s characters

 

* * *

 

“I’m supposed to be better at this, I have a real guitar.” Ruby said over the crowd on the 60’ television screen booing. Originally thinking she was going to have the upper hand at the Rock Band game due to the fact that she actually played an instrument, was quickly proving to not be sufficient experience to master the five color coded controls on the plastic guitar strapped around her midsection. _Fuck this._ “I am in an _actual_ band!” She screamed as YOU LOSE crossed the screen and her scantily dressed punk chic game character began to drop to the floor and weep.

“Are you sure?” asked Henry as he clutched his stomach and rolled around on the floor with laughter.  After dinner, the three filed into the massive den and began to talk and play interactive video games.

“This is bullshit.” Ruby muttered under her breath as she dropped onto the cream leather sectional couch with her arms folded across her chest. Conversation between the two women moved from subject to subject fluidly, with Henry interjecting with lively comments; she enjoyed being with them immensely. With it just being her and Granny back home, she missed the sense of family and the dynamics of a parent/child relationship.

“It’s okay dear; you’ll get it next time.” Regina said trying to stifle her laugh and feign sympathy.

“Maybe we should play another game; I have Little People Big Planet. There is like no win or lose, so you can go home feeling better about yourself.” Henry stood up and ejected the disk from the PlayStation3.

“This is so unfair,” Ruby laid her head on Regina’s shoulder and pouted. “He’s like a toddler. And I have an actual band,” she frowned.

“Do you really?” Regina asked pointedly.

“Yeah,” Ruby raised her head shyly. “Fairytale Rejects, remember when I had to go to rehearsal a couple weeks ago? We shoot a live show on every first Wednesday of the month.”

“That’s so cool!” Henry interjected into their conversation.

“Eh, it’s nothing really kid.” Ruby said looking around, not entirely used to the undivided attention.

“It’s more than “nothing” Ruby, it’s great.” said Regina as she brought her hand down to rub the younger woman’s knee. “How long have you been in a band? What kind of music do you guys play?”

“Yeah, what instrument do you play?” Henry asked as he wedged himself between the two women.

“Are you guys really interested?” Ruby asked in disbelief.

“Duh…” Henry said with the jab of an elbow. “Rock bands are so cool!”

“Yeah, what he said. Bands are…cool.” Regina said with a chuckle.

“Oh, well hmmm where do I start?” said Ruby, pulling her legs under her. “The band is basically just me, my brother Robbie, and my best friend Ariel. I’ve been playing guitar since my dad died in ’96, and my brother has been playing set since before that.”

“Set?” questioned Henry.

“Yeah, drum set.”

“Ohhhh….” He scratched at his chin as he began to add the meaning to his mental dictionary.

“At first we weren’t a band, just me and Ariel pairing our poetry with my guitar playing and singing here and there. Then, when my brother moved back from Boston, random jam sessions turned into song construction and we put some of our videos on YouTube. Before we knew it, we were getting gig requests from all over. We’ve played in Boston, Rochester, Buffalo, Vermont, Connecticut, some of everywhere. We have a nice following, some pretty cool fans, and its loads of fun.”

“That sounds amazing,” said Regina with an excited smile.

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome when you sit down to think about it.” Ruby said matching the older woman’s smile. “Things have slowed down a bit now though, with Robbie and his big boy job and Ari at college in Boston. We don’t get to do as much as before but we always get together at least once a month to produce something for our fans and to get our names out there.”

“That’s really fascinating Ruby,”

“Yeah Ruby, it’s so awesome!  Can I still come by and watch?!” Henry said swaying side to side looking expectantly to his mother.

“Yeah, are you free next Thursday? We’re shooting a segment for our YouTube channel,” Ruby asked as she wrapped her arm around the boy’s bony shoulders, squeezing him tight to her.

“I’m 8, I’m always free.” He giggled as she began to tickle his sides.

“Well if your mom says its okay, then I’ll come by and pick you up after I get off from the diner at 5.” Ruby slowed her attack on the boy’s rib cage and gently rolled her knuckles against the woman to his left forearm. “Or you guys could just come together to Ari’s apartment. She lives in the same building as Emma. We could make it a thing?” she inclined her head slightly and flashed a toothy grin.

“I’ll see what we can do?” A smile began to sneak across Regina’s face at the prospect.

“Mom, can we?” Henry whined.

“We’ll work something out,” Regina reassured him with a kiss to the temple. The boy jumped up from between them and padded over to the game system controller that was sitting on the floor. Seconds later, the room was filled with upbeat music and cartoonish characters dancing across the screen. She let out a tsk as she looked at her watch. “I don’t think so Henry, it’s after eleven. And someone has to be on the field by 8 tomorrow morning.”

“But mom!” the boy screeched.

“No, no, no; off to bed with you.” Regina stood. “Tell Ruby goodnight, call me when you’re finished showering and brushing your teeth.”

“Goodnight Ruby,” Henry said solemnly before he dragged himself towards the staircase.

“Goodnight Henry, I’ll see you later okay? I’ll beat your mom for you.” Ruby said pulling him into a hug and ruffling his hair.

“Can I pick the song?” He asked with eyes wide.

“Sure, then upstairs mister.” Regina said with hands on her hips.

* * *

“AAh! Stop winning!”

“Stop sucking!”

“This is bullshit!”

“Someone’s a sore loser.”

“Oh please, bite me.”

“Maybe that would give you an excuse for the score you have.”

“Why on earth would you put the level on expert?”

“Just imagine how bad you would lose if I put it on anything else?” Regina said with a laugh as she danced along in perfect time of the screen. “This would have already been over.” She hummed along with the video game’s cover of Britney Spears’ popular 90’s billboard smash, Hit Me Baby One More Time. “Please give me a siiiiigggn,” she sang loudly, taunting her opponent.

“Ahh!” the lanky brunette screamed as another “x” popped up on her side of the screen signifying yet another incorrect dance move. “I’m doing the moves! This thing is stupid.”

“I’m doing just fine.”

“This is dumb,” fed up with losing, Ruby pushed at the smaller woman to throw her off balance.

“Quit cheating!” said Regina with a laugh as she tried to get back into the rhythm of the song, dodging the younger woman’s attempts to throw her off kilter.

“Ha! Now I’m winning,” Ruby said triumphantly.

“That’s not fair!” Regina tried to push the younger woman off balance while dancing in time with the screen. “You’re worse than my son!” she yelled over the sound system that Ruby was conveniently increasing the volume to.

“Sorry, can’t hear you, winning!” shouted Ruby.

“So mature,” Regina managed to laugh out. “Ha! I’m catching up.” She taunted as she sang in tune with the song. “Ahh!” said Regina with a screech as she tried to avoid the other woman’s arms swinging in her direction. “Quit it,” she said with a flustered huff as the game acknowledged her dwindling score.

“Never!” Ruby shouted as she attacked her competitor. “Are you ticklish?” she questioned as she ran her fingertips across the other woman’s sides.

“No! Stop!” Regina struggled to get away without laughing.

“I’m sorry what? Did you say you were ticklish?” Ruby questioned as her fingers accelerated its dance across the smaller woman’s stomach.

“No!” Regina squealed in protest.

“Is that a yes?!” Ruby asked as she increased the pressure of her fingers causing the other woman to shriek. Pulling them both down onto the couch, Ruby pinned the flailing woman against the back of the sofa, giving her no room to escape the torture. “Tell me I won!”

“No!”

“Say it!”

“No!”

“Now!”

“Never!” Regina wrapped her arms around Ruby’s neck in attempt to flip them over.

“Say it!” Ruby shouted as she locked her arms around Regina’s back, trying to keep them from tipping off the edge of the couch. “I’m not gonna stop!”

“No!” she screamed into her neck as she tried to roll them over once more; squirming under the pressure of Ruby’s hands on her lower back tightening the grip against her.

“Say it…” she breathed out into the shell of her captive’s ear, her voice thick with arousal. The vibration from her voice caused a shiver to run through the older woman, flushing them closer than ever before. “Say…it…” said Ruby between wet kisses to the jugular of the woman under her; letting the last kiss ricochet against trembling flesh. Inclining her head, she peered into carnal mahogany eyes; the lust radiating off of them could be seen from space. Ruby leaned her head forward slightly, unsure if she should make the first move again, unsure if the woman in her arms understood the ramifications of what could be.

Regina could feel the atmosphere within the room shift around them, the energy that charged their actions dissipating and leaving something entirely different in its wake. The situation they found themselves in seemed to be comprised of more than lust. The intensity remained steady between them yet the tension began to soften, like the calm before the storm. Once Regina noticed the pleasant assault on her neck stopped, she lifted her head to search for any inclination that she wasn’t imagining the change. There was something hidden within the eyes that were bearing into her with a quiet fury, as if there was an emotion trying to sneak out of the dark eyes attempting to journey to her soul. The woman holding her remained silent, brown irises studied her intently. She looked down nervously, unable to hold the stare.

Ruby’s manicured fingers slipped under her chin to pull her focus back to the moment that was growing between them. Melting into the touch Regina dragged her teeth over her bottom lip causing the fiery brunette to lick her lips anticipatorily, as an invisible gravity forced began to pull their lips to the same destination. Her eyes were trained on the younger woman’s waiting mouth as she wrapped her hands around the lapels of her shirt and propelled the inevitable.

 “Moommm! I’m done!” Henry called from the top of the stairs, causing both women the freeze their actions.

Terror crossed Regina’s face, “okay honey! I’m coming!” She slid from under Ruby as gracefully as she could muster. “Sorry, I’ll be right back,” she shot an apologetic glance before turning into the direction of the stairwell. Awkward silence filled the room.

“It’s okay, don’t rush.” voiced Ruby calmly, while her insides were anything but. She pushed herself into a seating position and looked around the room anxiously.

“What?” Regina questioned, feeling the girl’s uncertainty.

“Mooom! Is Ruby still down there? Can I come watch you guys play some?” the voice interrupted from a closer distance than before with a yawn.

“Stop right there! Back to your room, I’m on my way now.” Regina shot a rueful look over her shoulder before disappearing upstairs.

 _The fuck am I doing?_ Ruby questioned herself as she brought the pads of her fingers to her bottom lip. _It almost happened again, but almost doesn’t count. What if she’s really not interested? What if she’s just extremely horny and I just managed to touch the right spots. I mean, I know she’s not Mary Margaret or anything…but…what if she is? What if I’m doing it again?_ She thought of the petrified look on Regina’s face when Henry interrupted them and her stomach sank. _This is high school all over again. I’m doing it again. I’m a fucking idiot._ Ruby didn’t even realize she had been pacing; she just knew that she needed an out, and she needed it now. She climbed the stairs two at a time and vanished into the kitchen in search of her jacket and purse. “What the fuck did I do with it?”

“Depends on what you’re looking for…” Regina said softly from the doorway. “What is it that you’re looking for?” she questioned.

Just then she spotted her items and haphazardly power-walked over to them. “I should go home, before I do something I’ll regret.” Ruby said scratching the back of her neck and reaching for her satchel and jacket. “Before we both do something we’ll regret.” She watched the woman before her physically flinch at the accusation.

“Well then, let me show you out.” Regina’s posture straightened rigidly with every word. She flicked at her hair angrily, as her fist flexed at her side; a failed attempt at trying to push away the sting of rejection and replace it with the steady burn of anger. “Or why bother, I’m sure you would have found it on your own if I came down thirty seconds later.” With a deep breath, she slid her preferred politician poker face on and turned to walk out of the door.

“No! Not that I regret any of this.” She panicked. “That’s not what I meant.” Ruby rushed forward and pulled the shorter woman into her arms. “I don’t regret any of this. I just don’t want to move too fast, I’m terrible at signals. I don’t even know if you want me in that way. I don’t want to push you into something you don’t want to do. I don’t know what to do. I want to do this right I’m not too good at this.” She rambled out as she watched conflicted emotions spawn across the other woman’s face, “Actually…I’m fucking terrible at it.” She winced at her terrible attempt to rectify the situation. With a sigh she whispered, “I’m just gonna..” with the point of a thumb towards the direction of the side door she is getting all too used to escaping out of. Hanging her head, she began to back away in retreat. “Goodnight, Regina.”

“Wait, Ruby.”Regina pushed her palms into the air to emphasize her haste. “I’m afraid I’m not any better,” Regina pulled at her wrists and brought them back into the position they were just in. She relaxed into the embrace with a soft smile. “But before you run away, why do you think I don’t want you?”

“…Regi-” her speech was cut off by pillow soft lips crashing into her own. Reciprocating, the vernal woman took the chance and deepened the kiss, moaning slightly as her tongue dove into velvet. Running her palms possessively up and down the smaller woman’s frame, she felt a shudder as her core unintentionally ground against Regina’s. Unable to tell from whom it came from, Ruby moaned into the kiss as heat began to swim over her body,

Regina flushed and bit back a moan as the younger woman’s tongue scribbled a line of praise across her clavicle and over her shoulder. Stifling a whimper, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as Ruby’s mouth continued the attention around her neck, only to return to coax the plump fold between her own teeth. There was a sharp tingle in the pit of her stomach, alerting her of how long it had been since someone touched her with such desire. Regina pressed harder into Ruby, her hips rolled wantonly trying desperately to find solace against the woman above her. “I’ve been dying to do that for a while now.” She whispered against the younger woman’s lips.

Ruby let out a relieved breath at the other woman’s admission and leaned over and took the other woman’s lips by surprise. “Thank you, for clearing that up,” she said as she brought their foreheads together. “I’m not gonna tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

“That’s so cute” A soft smile crossed her face.

“Not as cute as you,” Ruby quirked an eyebrow.

“So full of shit,” Regina rolled her eyes.

“I was serious when I said I have no clue how to do this right.” The admission was barely above a whisper.

Regina sighed into the feeling that was ghosting over her body and wrapped her arms around the towering woman’s neck, pulling herself up on her toes. “I’m no expert dear, but I did read somewhere that practice makes perfect.”

               

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry I’ve been so damn busy, know I know what other writers mean when they say that life got in the way. Look forward to the next chapter in the next day or so (I’ll give KJ time to edit…and me time to actually write from my outline lol) to make up for the elapsed time between chapters 6 and 7. OMG I can’t believe I’m about to be on chapter 8! I didn’t think I could get past chapter 4! look at me now. Thanks for following the story and what not. Love you guys!  Comment on here or hit up my tumblr. I’d love to talk to you guys and know what you think/where you want the story to go etc.  
> Disclaimer: I still do not own OUAT. If I did it would be a far better show with actual lead lesbian representation. Or something…shit.

* * *

“Henry, you have to look at the bright side of things sometimes. At least you scored the only point on the board. You guys will do better next game.” Regina said in an effort to coax her son out of his dismal mood. She watched his small shoulders rouse slowly in a shrug letting her know that her attempts were futile.

“Ugh, mom I don’t want to talk about it.” Henry grumbled as he held the door to the diner open for his mother.

“Okay honey,” Regina sighed as she eyed their favorite booth in the far corner of the cafe.  She rolled her eyes as her son threw himself into the corner and covered his face dramatically with the menu.

“Hey guys,” Ruby said cheerfully as she bounced over to the table instantly warming the temperature with her presence. Her eyes lingering over Regina’s form before she gave her a playful wink, “How was your morning?” Their conversation from the week before played in the forefront of her mind. The moon setting over their shoulders became the only source of light in the kitchen. The clock over the refrigerator ticking away emphasized their simultaneous reluctance to break free from the comfort found within each other’s arms. A whispered promise to take things slow, alluded to a slight make-out session, followed by laughter and another pledge to adhere to the original promise caused a shy smile to beam across her lips.

Regina smiled in response to her subtle flirtation; she began to feel like a lovesick teenager. Against her better judgment, she found herself beginning to crave the sound of the younger woman’s voice. On the night of their first kiss, Regina tossed and turned for hours before her phone rang with the Ruby on the other line asking if she was the only one having trouble sleeping. The picture of Ruby’s bear claw shaped fuzzy slippers appearing on her home screen broke the awkward tension between them as they both erupted into laughter. They discussed everything from Ruby’s musical history to Regina’s reluctance towards the administrators and new teachers at Henry’s school throughout the night, neither one knowing who fell asleep first. “Hello darling,” her eyebrow raised predatorily.

“Hey Ruby,” Henry said solemnly oblivious to the blushing women in his company, as his head disappeared further into his menu.

“Whoa, kid. What’s wrong? You look like somebody stole your bike.” Ruby said concerned unable to concentrate on the woman flirting with her.

“Henry’s team lost their game today against the Augusta Cardinals.” Regina stated as her son only growled in response to Ruby’s question.

“Aww its okay Henry, you can’t win them all. What was the score?” Ruby asked as she slid into the booth next to him.

“1 to 12,” Henry said flatly as he flipped the page of the menu and began to read feverishly, like he hasn’t lived in this town for his entire life.

“Damn, you guys suck. That wasn’t even close.” Ruby chuckled, before wind from the two glares that quickly turned her direction and almost knocked her out of the seat. “Oh my god guys chill. I was just kidding, your team just needs a little more practice and probably some better drills and plays. No need to fret yo. Who’s the coach?” She ruffled the young boy’s hair until his resolve finally broke. She placed her arm around his shoulder and pulled him under the crook of her arm.

“Mr. Booth.”

“August Booth? He’s who they have coaching soccer?”

“Yeah why?” Henry asked peering up over her shoulder.

“Huh, well first and foremost he’s a terrible soccer player.” She chuckled to herself, “that’s probably why you guys are losing. I can probably still run circles around him on the field.”

“You know Mr. August?”  Henry asked excitedly.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get away from him. We went to middle and high school together.” Ruby huffed, “He was my first boyfriend actually.” Sucking her teeth at the memory, “that’s how I know he’s such a shi-,” she coughed trying to stop the curse from slipping out, “bad player.”

“That’s so cool!” Henry said happily. “Well not about the bad player part, maybe he’s gotten better? He looks really good when he’s teaching us stuff.”

“Hmmmm,” Regina flexed an eyebrow at the information just shared, a twinge of jealousy pulled at the base of her spine as she tuned out Henry’s response.  She waved at the adolescent waitress wiping down the counter and mouthed the word coffee.

“Yeah,” she nudged the boy’s shoulder with her elbow making him laugh shyly. She tickled his ears as the waitress came by the table with the coffee and took their order. “But that was only for maybe the first two months of my freshman year in high school. We were something like best friends in junior high because he was the only boy who wasn’t intimidated by my superior strength and sport playing ability.” She pulled up her sleeve and flexed her bicep before placing a kiss on the bulging muscle, “but he was a year older than me. We were still friends outside of school, he would always come over and hangout or we would go to the park and I’d teach him how to play soccer. Because of my efforts he became popular because the soccer team was finally winning and somewhere in there he asked me to be his girlfriend. But when I started at Storybrooke High and people found out he was dating a freshman he got a lot of heat for it. I guess his reputation was more important than our relationship. So he broke up with me in front of all his friends.”

“Well th-” Regina started.

“That’s really mean,” Henry said angrily, interrupting his mother.

“It’s totally cool little bro, no sweat. I actually prefer the ladies,” Ruby chuckled and pulled the brunet closer. “I was more upset that he stopped being my best friend than my boyfriend. That part I could have cared less,” she shrugged.

“So is that the last time you two talked?” Regina asked as she cut open her omelet.

“Ha!” she laughed to herself. “No, we still talk from time to time but that didn’t happen till about a year or so ago when he came back to town. My sophomore year I got picked for varsity soccer and started making headlines for track and field. Our coaches put us up against each other for a scrimmage game and the whole school found out that he was no match for me on the field. I guess he thought I was supposed to act like a shitty player just because we had history, nope. He vowed to never speak to me again because I embarrassed him.” She shrugged and stole a piece of bacon from the plate in front of her.

“Stop that,” Regina said chasing the younger woman’s hand with her fork in attempts to get her bacon back from the thief in front of her. Henry giggled at his mother’s failed attempt to catch the bacon before it entered Ruby’s mouth. “You are worse than Henry.”

“Mom, can I have some bacon please?”

“Yes, honey.” Regina picked a strip off of her plate and handed it to the smiling boy.

“Thanks,” he said before handing the bacon over to Ruby. The stunned look on his mother’s face made both he and his new partner in crime double over in laughter. Their budding victory dance was abruptly halted by Eugenia Lucas clearing her throat loudly from the door of the kitchen. “Uh oh,” Henry peered over Ruby’s head at the visibly angry older woman. She cocked an eyebrow and pointed at the spot next to him where Ruby was currently hiding. “I think your granny wants you Ruby. I think you’re in trouble.” He leaned over and rubbed her back before whispering, “She’s doing that thing that my mom does. I think you should start moving before you get into any more trouble.”

“Regina, have you seen my granddaughter?” She called out across the counter as she scanned the fairly empty restaurant floor.

Ruby looked up at the woman in front of her who was trying her best to cover a smirk. “Tell her I went outside,” she whispered.

“Henry, are you going to drink any more of that juice?” Regina asked completely ignoring Ruby’s plea.

“No, I’m done. You said I can only have two glasses.”

“Okay then,” she said pulling a bill from her wallet and placing it on the table. “Why yes Mrs. Lucas, Ruby is over here currently using my son as a shield. But I’ll gladly give her over to you, we were just leaving.” She stood to her feet and finger combed her hair back into shape. The obnoxious gasp that followed made her insides chuckle in triumph.

“Oh you are gonna pay for that,” Ruby growled before sulking out of the seat. “Hey Gran, you needed me?”

“Office, now.” Granny Lucas didn’t wait for a response before disappearing into the back hallway.

“You traitor!” Ruby yelled playfully to Regina as they approached the door only resulting in Regina’s wave goodbye and a blown kiss. She pretended to spike the figurative smooch from the air.

“I guess this is just goodbye then.” Regina said flippantly before heading out of the door with her son in tow. As she got to the black Benz parked out front she turned around to catch the leggy brunette staring at her with an honest smile. Regina waved once more and pointed to the direction of the hallway behind the restaurant counter as she mouthed “go”, only for Ruby to roll her eyes and turn around and start talking to the teen working the cash register. She didn’t know how long she had been smiling to herself until she saw her reflection in the hallway mirror of her home.

* * *

Ruby stood in the middle of the small town diner and stared, mesmerized at the sway of the woman she found herself wanting to get to know more and more each day. Still relatively young, Regina carried herself with the sophistication of a queen; regal in every way. She found herself fascinated at every facet that the woman had to offer, on the surface and subconsciously.

“You’re whipped already, this is a new record. It’s also very sad,” Tara said smugly from behind the cash register.

“I know, God help me.” Ruby shook her head disapprovingly and disappeared down the hallway towards the restaurant office. _Game face_. She slowly pushed open the door, ready for any attack that her grandmother had prepared for slacking off on the job. Yet, when she opened the door fully Ruby found her grandmother sitting in the chair humming quietly while she rubbed at her brother’s shoulders. “Robbie!”

“Ruby,” the older woman clicked her tongue. “Was the office quiet when you walked into it?”

“…yes Granny.” Ruby said reluctantly at the tone her grandmother used.

“Then why would you walk in and start screaming like a banshee?”

“I’m sorry, Granny” Ruby muttered quietly, immediately transported back to 13 years of age.

“Your brother has news that he wants to share with the both of us.” Eugenia pushed the hair from around his eyes, “Go ahead Robinhood.”

“Ok, you guys remember when I stressed out about that interview last week with the news station in Boston? I got the job!”

“Holy shit that’s great Robbie,” Ruby exclaimed giving her brother a high five. When her hand dodged his and smacked against his forehead they began to play fight, ending with Ruby slung over his shoulder kicking and squirming to get out of his grips.

“Okay you two, settle down.” The old woman said with a smile recalling all the times she’s had to break them up from this position over their lifetime.  With a dismal realization her smile faded, “So you’re moving three hours away?”

“Granny, don’t think of it like that. I thought you would be happy for me.” Robbie sat on the edge of the desk.

“Dude, what about the band? Are we gonna have to just call it quits? After all this?” Ruby stood and crossed her arms.

“You two are so predictable, why can’t you just be happy for me?” He stood to his full height in attempts to gain control over the situation, but being 6’2 never stood a chance against the only two women that have been there for him his entire life. He sighed, “I’m only gonna move to Portland and commute both ways. It’s in the middle so it’s neutral to both the new job and you guys.” He placed a kiss on his grandmother’s throbbing temple. “And no, we just started getting some real buzz. If Ariel has made the decision to commute back and forth from Boston, I can do it too.” Walking over to his baby sister he threw his arm around her neck in an effort to soften the pissed look across her face. “Is everyone happy now?”

“Yes.” Ruby said in a clipped tone, trying to calm her blood pressure down.

“I still need some convincing, I don’t like you that far from home sweetie.”

“Gran, I’ll still be here if you need me. Besides, you have Ruby here. She’s not going anywhere any time soon.”

“You don’t know that Robbie. I actually do plan on going to college, once I finish my online classes.”

“What? Yeah right, you’re not gonna leave Gran. You don’t know how to function outside of this diner let alone survive outside of Storybrooke.” He scoffed.

“You know what dude? Fuck you. You think you know everything Mr. Big Shot but you don’t know shit. You don’t get to-”

“Ruby,” The elder spoke sternly. “Apologize to your brother right now.”

“What? But Gran-” Ruby started to protest.

“No! I don’t want to hear it. You two are too old to be still doing this, and watch your MOUTH young lady.”

“But why do I have to apologize to _him_? He started it.”

“Now!”

“But Gran! This isn’t fair.”

“I swear Ruby, if you make me tell you again there will be problems that you are not ready to handle yet.” The threat was met with silent fury. The old woman stood and stepped in front of her grandson as he opened his mouth to speak. “Ruby Ashley Lucas! If your parents were here today hearing how you are speaking to me and your brother!”

“Well they’re not; they’ve been dead a long time,” Ruby stated furiously as she grabbed the key ring off the desk in front of them and pivoted to walk out the door. “But if they were they’d know this was bullshit.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**Message To: “Thug Nasty” & “MM:)<3”**   


**I’m fucking done. Gran and Robbie don’t want me to go to college. They think it’s a waste because I’ll never be anything more than a waitress.**

                Ruby typed furiously, stomping slightly with every vowel. She huffed as the door to the back of Granny’s Diner slammed hard enough for the frame of the building to shake. Seething she took a deep breath stopping herself just short of imploding. The heels of her combat boots hammered the cadence of war as she approached the side of the Bed & Breakfast she’s called home for the last 12 years. Her hand trembled slightly as a rush of conflicting feelings flooded her body. As anger slowly began to bubble to the surface she decided to forgo dealing with her keys and walked to the door that she knew was always open. In her mind’s eye she understood that the rare feelings raging within her would most likely cause her to snap the key off in the door if it decided not to cooperate.

                The slam of the smaller bedroom door at the end of the downstairs hall managed to rattle all the pictures that adorned the walls, only successfully flipping one off its handle and causing it to land face first on the hardwood floor with a crack. Ruby cringed, realizing that she was probably acting more like her 16 year old self than the 24 years she is in reality. Her feet carried her over to the memory frozen forever within a sterling silver structure. She ran a finger over the newly cracked slit across the glass encasing of her favorite picture; the moment she plays often in her head when she is approaching despair.

_Two days after Granny had a stroke in the middle of the diner kitchen, the green station wagon halted with a crunch over day old snow outside the front of Storybrooke Hospital and out filed Grayson Lucas, his wife Anita, and their two children. “Ruby put that camera back in your pocket!” Anita yelled as her husband began to speed walk to catch up to the rambunctious child._

_Leading the way to the information desk, seven year old Ruby stood on the tips of her toes and leaned over the desk to tap on the nurse who had her back turned. “Excuse me; can I see my GranGran please?” she sloppily pushed the over grown bangs from her eyes so the woman could take her more seriously._

_“Why yes dear, what’s her name?” the nurse said with a grin at the child’s politeness._

_“GranGran.” Ruby said with the “duh” face._

_“Eugenia Lucas,” the tall man boomed from the doorway before he stepped forward to reach down and capture his demanding daughter._

_“Oh yes, that GranGran!” she winked at the young woman clad in Pluto pajamas and a ski jacket to contest the winter air. “Room 431, you’re gonna go down that hallway to the right. Then you’re gonna take the elevator up to the fourth floor and it’s the last door on your right.”_

_Although the nurse’s directions were clear, she didn’t include “have the courage to open the door and see the only woman that has been keeping you from drowning your entire life laying sick in a hospital bed”. No pamphlet over looked on the information desk was designed to tell the family how to handle the step after the sheriff calls to tell you that the only matriarchal unit you have ever known was found on the floor shuddering in pain by a customer._

_Grayson approached the door first before stopping short, he commanded himself to open the door like he would any other. He told himself he was man enough to see his mother hurt and not breakdown like he used to as a toddler; but nothing happened and the door remained closed. Anita watched her husband’s internal struggle and placed her arm on his shoulder to let him know she could be strong enough for all four of them. Stepping around him, Anita extended her hand only to draw it back to her chest as if it were about to get chomped off by a shark. She realized in that moment she had never seen her mother in anything but perfect health since the day she walked her down the aisle and officially called her daughter. After being abandoned by her birthmother at 13, Eugenia Lucas has been the only mother figure to ever enter the younger woman’s life. Never seeing his parent this worried about anything began to stir up anxiety within Robbie as he took a few steps back from the scenario unfolding in front of him._

_“How in the hell am I supposed to figure out who framed Erica Kane for murder with you guys breathing so heavy outside of my door?” A voice yelled groggily from inside the room._

_“GranGran!” Ruby let out a relieved scream as she let go of her big brother’s hand and ran around her parents to push the door open and run to the gray haired woman under a mountain of quilts. She pushed herself up on the side of the bed to kiss her grandmother’s cheek. “Granny, what’s wrong with your bed at home? Its way bigger than this bed, why you wanna sleep here?” She shook her head at the final question, showing her disdain for the downgrade the older woman was taking._

_The middle aged woman gave a hearty chuckle as she pulled the small plump cheeks between the palms of her hands. “Little Red, did I ever tell you that you remind me of your father when he was your age?”_

_“Only when I break something,” the small brunette answered. The dark cloud that seemed to follow the family as they walked into the hospital room began to show spots of sun as they all laughed at the frankness of the little girl._

_“Yes, well this is a special instance where I’m talking about how you can always manage to bring the sunshine to those around you. Especially your Granny; who before you walked in didn’t feel so sunny.” The family matriarch wiped at her tears trying to slide down her cheeks, “I’m so glad you’re here, you don’t know how hard it hit me that I might not be able to lay my eyes on the four of you again.” She captured Anita’s hand in her own and squeezed lightly._

_“Oh Eugenia,” Anita whimpered softly as she pulled the older woman’s hand to the space over her heart and tried not to cry._

_“And Grayson Randolph Lucas, you’re looking more and more like your old man every time I open my eyes, if I wasn’t so present during those 14 hours of labor I would be confused on who actually gave birth to you.” She winked slyly at her son and he let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding and met her gaze with an honest smile at the mention of his father. “Robin, why are you all the way over there?” she questioned after looking around the room and finding him in the far right corner of the room under the boxy television hanging down from the wall. “Come over here, I’m not contagious.” The lanky brunet stalked over to the unoccupied side of the hospital bed biting at his nails nervously. Eugenia smiled softly and turned to her son before putting her hand up the shield her mouth, “when did you trade in my grandson for Magic Johnson? This child is entirely too tall to be Robin. Robin is like seven,” she said in a fake whisper._

_“Gran! I’m supposed to be this tall. I’m 12.”The boy laughed out at his grandmother’s antics as she wrapped an arm around his neck._

_“Daddy look! There’s one picture left!” Ruby jumped up and down as she read the numbers on the disposable Kodak. “Can you take a picture of us?” she asked pulling on the bottom of his Navy edition pea coat._

_“Ok Ruby, then you have to let Granny rest. You’ll get to talk to her more later when we take her home tomorrow.” The man bent down to a crouch from his usual 6’0 view and ruffled the girl’s hair. Picking her up, he placed her across the foot of the bed. “Ok, everyone get together and smile. One, two, thr-” as he ended his countdown and pressed the plastic shutter Ruby sneezed over his hand._

_“Oops! Sorry Daddy.” The long haired beauty apologized with a pout._

_“You are just like your father, little Red.” The head of the family gave a slight sigh before all in the room including the seven year old culprit burst into laughter._

Here she stood tracing the smiles of her deceased parents, trying to feel the happiness they were feeling. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the warmth of her father’s frame and the gentleness of her mother’s voice, but as she grows older and the anniversaries of their deaths gains yet another year she finds it harder and harder to evoke feelings from so long ago. The cordless phone rang from its holder on her nightstand, the caller ID read her brother’s cell phone number as she just let it ring. The voicemail button blinked red to notify her that a message was being recorded. “Ruby, what the fuck? Why do you always have to be so damn dramatic? Everything can’t be about you. I’ve never even seen you do a homework assignment, but now all of a sudden you’re going to college? Whatever dude.”

Ruby was seeing red, her brother’s harsh words bringing back the anger she had successfully put aside. “Fuck this,” she grumbled to herself as she dropped the picture frame onto her bed and turned to walk out of the room and tripped over the corner of her DVD case spilling the collection on the floor. She watched the 35 cases slide in different directions. “Fuck! Ugh! Fuck this!” her Save the Last DVD got the brunt of the angry outburst. The balls of her feet causing a loud crunch to the now compromised case.

Her mind was reeling, she didn’t even remember leaving the house or starting to walk down the street. It was the bell clanging from over the door at Granny’s Diner to her left that brought her out of her anger induced trance.  The family leaving the diner was laughing heartily as the father put the small child that was holding his hand up on his shoulder, it reminded Ruby of the time she spent being the center of her father’s world and taking trips around the house on his back. Her pocket vibrated announcing a new txt.

**Regina: So apparently my son is the next Larry Byrd. He better make enough money to repay me for the closet full of jeans that are now too short and I’m on my way to the mall to replace.**

Ruby chuckled quietly to herself; she could feel the woman’s attitude.

**Ruby: Can I be his manager? I’ve learned a lot watching Kris Jenner on E! You guys can be the next Kardashian’s.**

**Regina: Which one of us leaked the sextape? Can I be Bruce? Lol**

**Ruby: It was probably me and lol no, that’s too easy you gotta be Kim. Mind if I invite myself to your mall trip? I need to escape.**

Robbie calling her name in the distance caused that sliver of happiness to fade. He called her again when he noticed she kept moving in the opposite direction; rounding the corner to circle around the path she just walked on the next street. The notification bar beeped twice, drawing her attention back to the phone.

**Thug Nasty: Yo, what? Did they actually say that? I’m in the middle of seminar, are you okay? I could probably escape for five minutes before they notice I’m gone.**

**Ruby: It’s cool, just hit me when you’re done with work/school.**

**Thug Nasty: ok, but let me know if you change your mind and need me. I’m always here for you, school doesn’t really matter.**

**Ruby: Lies, yes it does. But I’m good for now. Thank you**

                Ruby was thankful for Ariel being in her life, within minutes of the short conversation she could feel the burden of bad feelings faintly lighten. She felt around her pockets for her for the keys to the chariot that was about to carry her out of the city limits. She patted around her body once more as white hot fear that she locked them in the house ran through her. _Fuck; that was close._ Under no circumstance was she ready to have a civilized conversation with the family members that so obviously disregard he- _JesusFChrist._ Everything stopped the moment she realized that keys stemming from the Statue of Liberty keychain were not to her red Mazda RX8 but to her brother’s blue Honda Rebel; Sapphire, her older brother’s beloved motorcycle that he barely allows anyone besides him touch it. He used to take her on rides through the city and even taught her how to drive it; but after she mastered it, he refused to let her lay a hand on it. A devious smile crept across her lips as she skipped over to the bike parked 10 yards in front of her behind the diner. Throwing her leg over the chopper and pulled her shades from the pocket of the black leather jacket. _You think I’m never going to leave this town, watch me._

* * *

“Henry, you cannot possibly hate _everything_ in this section. This is the third store we’ve been in.” The frustrated brunette groaned and placed the three plaid button-down shirts back on the rack.

                “Mom, picking clothes is hard.” The short brunet said, not once lifting his eyes from his PSP.

                “If you’re having a difficult time, what in the world am I going through?” She said with the roll of her eyes a little harder than intended. The music from the video game in her son’s hand stopped, as he gave her a disapproving look. She softened instantly, that look always gets her. “I’m sorry.”

                “Mom, it’s too much pressure. Go try on that dress you were staring at when we walked in, I’ll come to the dressing room in ten minutes.” He handed her his gaming system and pushed her in the direction of the dress section.

                “Ten minutes,” she called over her shoulder. “Two outfits and an extra pair of jeans, size 10 please.” Regina smiled a little, noticing his independency growing…and his manipulation tactics. She chuckled to herself at his perception of everything around him, even though it seemed like his line of sight never drifted passed the rectangular screen between his palms; he knew just how to get her away so he could shop by himself. As she walked into the dressing room she ran her thumbs over the fabric of the black flowing Robert Rodriguez dress. _I guess I’ll need shoes too. Yay._ She groaned at the excitement that began to overwhelm her. _Ugh, ok. Ruby may have a point with the shopping problem._ She laughed to herself as Ruby’s ringtone sounded from inside her purse hanging on the hook _. Speak of the devil_. Pulling the phone out of the bag, she rolled her eyes as she noticed Ruby somehow managed to steal her phone and change her contact name.

**Coolest Person Alive: Parking. Check. What store are you in? By the way, you park like an asshole. Lol**

**Regina: Ha, I don’t know what you’re talking about. My car is sacred and new, she deserves two spaces & Nordstrom…………dressing room. Don’t even start.**

**Coolest Person Alive: You are in so much trouble lol**

Regina pulled the dress over her head and tied the silver belt across the middle. She finger fluffed her hair and applied fresh lipstick for the full effect of how the outfit would look. The lighting in the dressing stall was at a dull gold, not really appropriate for boosting her ego. _I feel like I’m dressing by oven light._ Just then she remembered the three sided mirror and stage in the foyer of the fitting area. Padding softly to the vanity platform, she wondered if she should go back and snag the tan leather platforms Henry pulled her away from in Sak’s, _what does he know about the price of fashion?_ Stepping up on the stage, she felt an immediate rush of vanity spread through her bloodstream. _Yes. Yes, this will do. This will do splendidly._ She turned to the side to admire how the back of the dress flashed a peek of her toned olive thighs.

                “That looks absolutely amazing on you.” Pulling her from her thoughts, a tall blonde haired man holding two dress shirts and suit pants approached the side of her mirror with a sleazy smile.

                “Thank you,” Regina said honestly. “It does, doesn’t it?” She called over her shoulder as she gave another look over her reflection.  Out of the corner of the mirror, she noticed that the man never made his way past her into a dressing stall. His eyes racking over her form hand delivered the pedestal for her ego to stand on.

                “But I must say it’d look way better on my bedroom floor tonight after I take you to dinner.” He rubbed his beard while that shady grin crept across his face again.

                Regina spun around so the forward blonde could witness the magnitude of her brewing wrath. “Excuse-” she noticed someone speaking in unison with her but at a decibel higher than her own.

                “Excuse you? The fuck did you just say to her?” Ruby questioned angrily. The chain around her boot gave her gait a menacing cadence as she stalked forward towards the offending man.

                “Ruby honey,” Regina stepped down off the stage and into the brunette’s pathway. She shot Ruby a worried look, the overly hostile attitude was something the younger woman has never exhibited in the entire time they’ve known each other.

                Ruby side stepped Regina and placed her arm around her waist to push her behind back. “You need to learn how to talk to women. And learn some fucking respect; your mom must be hella proud to have a douche like you walking around harassing people in public. Do you kiss your grandma with that mouth?” At the mention of his family the older man bristled and opened his mouth to retort. Her right hand clutched onto her helmet as she waved it slightly in the air, “No, you’re wrong. Whatever you’re about to say you can fucking save it. In fact, if you wanna keep that pretty face of yours intact by the end of this conversation you’ll just apologize and then get the fuck out.” Regina quiet made a noise of disbelief behind her as she stood there shocked at the act of protection. “You owe her an apology. Several but because looking at your face pisses me off, I’ll settle for one.” The man flexed a defiant eyebrow, confused at the escalation of events. “I said apologize to her. Dude, do you have a fucking hearing problem?” Ruby questioned with a roar as she tapped her helmet on his chest, causing the man to roll his eyes. “I’d hate for you to get the wrong impression of me and think I’m all bark.” A worried look crossed the man’s face at the insinuation; he looked down to her firm grip on the helmet in her hand as the weight of her words rained down on him. “I’d love to make a believer out of you.”

Just as she attempted to step forward, Regina tugged at Ruby’s jacket and wedged herself in the rapidly closing space between her and the terrified man in front of her. “Ruby, go to my dressing room now.” She pushed her shoulder slightly and pointed down the hallway. The statuesque brunette didn’t budge; “I’m coming, right now.” Regina watched the woman take a couple steps back and run a shaky hand through the long tresses around her cheeks. in that moment, Regina knew the other woman wouldn’t leave without getting what she just argued for. A light bulb clicked on in her brain, waking up the vile words that were ready for attack before Ruby interrupted. With regal precision, her back straightened to its full height before she slowly pivoted to face her offender. “First off, who in the hell do you think you are? Where do you get off on speaking to me as if I’m some whore off the street?” A gasp from the entryway made the next words die in her throat.

“Mom, why are you yelling?” Henry asked as he walked into the foyer with his arms full of clothes. The adults all turned their heads towards him at breakneck speed. A man stepped around to the left into his line of vision, obviously the person responsible for pulling his mother out of the persona she likes to present to the public. He looked at his mother try to pull a smile and pull a lie from somewhere within. “Hey Ruby,” Henry smiled and walked over to the taller woman’s side. He noticed that as she bent down to shake her hand through his hair, only her frown managed to soften but not the pointed look in her eyes. The man cleared his throat, unintentionally calling everyone’s focus to shift back to him.

“Sir,” Regina’s tone was clipped and controlled. “I believe a higher power has just spared you. Why? I’m sure none of us can figure out; but I think this is a valuable lesson you can latch on to early. Now it would be in your best interest to admit your wrongdoing, turn around, and just leave this vicinity of the city.” She stepped down to join Ruby and her son, who was shooting everyone a confused look.

“I’m sorry,” the man choked out as he began to retreat from their sight into a dressing room.

“I don’t think you heard me. This vicinity of the _city_ is what I said. Buy the suits or leave them, it makes no difference to me. I would hate to run into you and have a change of heart; I promise you won’t survive the next rendezvous.”  Regina turned her attention to the boy, who was not used to her tone of voice, crashing his body into hers. She ran a soothing hand through the back of his hair and down his back. “Come on honey, my dressing room is the last one to the left.” She turned him around to gather the outfits he dropped, her attention drifted to Ruby’s determined gaze to the man who was now escaping the store. Regina turned back and watched her son’s  skinny legs glide him down to the appropriate door, “Ruby and I are just gonna stand right here and wait for you to come out so we can all see in the big mirror out here, alright?” He nodded and disappeared behind the beige door with a click.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby groaned as she plopped down on the satin bench and dropped her head into her hands. “Today has been shit since you left.” She sighed and looked up with watery puppy dog eyes.

“What were you thinking? That man could have been some deranged lunatic. You threatened him.” Regina stepped closer to the troubled woman, the conflicted look in the honey brown eyes causing a sharp pain to roll across her heart. She finger swept the brown bangs hiding the woman’s left eye. “Are you okay?”

“No. Yes…..no. Shit, I don’t know.” Ruby rolled her eyes at the strange uncertainty of her feelings. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just….sometimes when I get stressed I can’t _help_ but see red.” She looked down at her trembling fists with a nervous laugh. The palms of her hands rubbed across the thighs of her jeans in another attempt to calm herself down.

“Ruby,” Regina said barely above a whisper as she wedged herself between Ruby’s thighs and fixed her pesky bang again. She stood stunned, as the young woman wrapped her arms around her sides and buried her face in her thigh. “It’s gonna be okay,” Regina ran her fingers over her scalp as her sigh tickled her pelvis. She could feel the heat from around her shoulders begin to lift like a mist.

“Mom! I need a different size.” Henry shouted from behind the partition.

“Henry, yelling?” Regina questioned.

“Sorry mom.”

“Try a different shirt for now, after this we’ll just get another size.”

“That doesn’t fit either.”

“Okay,” She sighed and started to walk to the dressing room, only as her feet moved the rest of her body remained in the same position. “Ruby, let go.” She chuckled as the woman’s arms tightened, “Please?” She wiggled and the arms dropped, only for Ruby to snatch her down into her lap with a laugh.

“Thank you,” Ruby said while bringing her lips to Regina’s.

The urbane woman wrapped her arms around the neck of the woman holding onto her and deepened the kiss. Regina pulled the woman’s bottom lip gently between her teeth before sliding her tongue over it and into the other woman’s unsuspecting mouth. Breaking from their embrace Regina placed a soft kiss on the brunette’s forehead, “Any time.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like (or at least just don’t hate it) leave your comments or whatever you want to do. Promote this also; I think that’s what I’m supposed to say lol. Annnddd don’t be a stranger, I need more friends  You can msg me here or wonder over to my tumblr-> Flashesoflightunsheen (. Tumblr . com of course) 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own shit. Currently not even an internet connection. So I especially do not own any rights to OUAT or its characters.

* * *

“Hello?” Regina answered the phone in an amused voice.

“I thought you were going to call me when you got home?” Ruby asked as she pulled a beer out of the white retro 70’s style refrigerator in the corner of the basement. Her question was received with an indifferent hum over the line.

“Well, as you can probably tell I just walked into the house.” She jingled her keys as she pulled them from the lock so they could be heard on the other line. “So if you would, please turn your telescope away from my front door, Count Olaf.” She smiled deviously when Ruby started to choke from laughing once she realized the children’s movie reference. “Some of us can’t weave through traffic without a care in the world,” Regina poured herself a glass of wine from the rack on her counter after she hung her purse on the brass hook under the glass cabinet.  She took a swig from the crystal; relaxation began to fill her senses. “Some of us can’t be the lucky ones, taking off at top speed down the highway, hair flowing in the wind, strapped to the back of a motorcycle.” She moved efficiently around her kitchen with the phone to her ear while putting the final touches on the Cornish hen in her slow cooker.

“Hmm, so that’s what took you so long to get home; you couldn’t leave the parking lot for watching me drive away.” Ruby smiled wide, her ego growing large enough to take a seat next to her on the couch.

“Who said any of that? You’re very full of yourself aren’t you?”

Ruby could tell she was over there rolling her eyes. “Very; but enough about that, can you rewind back to my hair blowing in the wind? You forgot to mention how good I looked in my leather jacket and tight t-shirt. Made you wet didn’t it.” This time it was Regina’s turn to choke and Ruby couldn’t hold back her laughter at the woman’s surprise. “I’m going to take that for confirmation.” The phone beeped loudly in her ear, jarring her concentration. _2 new msgs. I’m totally not in the mood, if they need something they’ll call. God, I hope no one needs anything._

“I’m going to act like that didn’t just happen.” Regina said clearing her throat and trying to regain her composure.

“Oh, it happened.” Ruby smiled to herself, “But I’ll let it slide for now. I can play up to your biker chick fantasy later.”

“Ha, and who said anything about fantasy?” Regina asked dryly.

“Well if it wasn’t before, it sure is now.” Ruby said smugly, before draining the contents of her Heady-Topper canned beer. “I should get pissed and steal my brother’s bike more often,” her tone drifted into an icy indignation at the mention of her brother.

“You still don’t want to talk about it?”

“No thank you, I’m good.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, beside’s it’s too early in the game for me to scare you with my thought process. The less I talk about it, the better I feel about it.”

“That’s not very healthy Ruby.”

“Not healthy, but effective. Compartmentalization has become my thing, anger management is for pussies.” Ruby heard dishes clanging in the background, “what are you doing anyway?”

“Cooking wild rice and trying to thicken my gravy. I made this complete meal, forgetting that some of the boys from the soccer team were having a sleepover with Henry at Emma’s. Now I have all this food.”

“Mmm, what did you make? Because suddenly the six chicken nuggets I stopped for at Wendy’s are gone. I could totally come over and eat his serving.”

“Please tell me you ate before you came to the mall. Chicken nuggets are not for mealtime and especially not just six.” Regina scolded in a motherly tone, the other woman made a disgruntled huff as retort. “I put two Cornish hens in my Crockpot before I left for the mall and I’m finishing up this wild rice now. Then I’ll sauté my spinach and mushrooms. I’ll set the table for us.”

“My stomach has already started walking-” She was cut off by frantic beeping coming from her phone signaling an incoming call. “Hey Regina, let me call you back in a minute when I’m on my way. I’m getting another call.”

“Sure,” Regina said slightly disappointed before the line dropped.

“Well dammit, as I live and breathe. Is this some kind of mirage? It can’t be my best friend of 10 plus years returning my call _two weeks_ later. Has to be someone calling me from her phone to tell me she’s went back in time, damn that great ass Verizon signal.”

“Ok,” the soft voice on the other end sighed. “I deserved that.”

“Damn right.” Ruby said solemnly.

“I’m sorry Ruby.” She sighed again.

“Hey Mary-Margaret, what’s wrong? You don’t sound like yourself.”

“I’m ok I guess, what about you?”

“You sound very not ok, and you don’t wanna know. I told Gran and Robbie that I wanted to go to college and they all but told me not to waste my time.” Ruby let out an annoyed groan before turning up another can.

“I’m sure they didn’t mean it like that Ruby.” Mary Margaret stated flippantly before she took an audible breath and sighed dramatically again, “David and I just had our first real fight. I’m tired of being hidden away; I want to be his wife. His divorce from that vile woman has been official for more than a year now. It makes no sense that we’re not married yet. And that made me realize how wrapped up in him I’ve been. I’m sorry I’ve been such a terrible best friend.”

“It’s ok M, life happens. You want to come over? Or do you want to stop by the bar and talk about everything? I’m sure we could both use a drink; I’ll even buy you one of those fruity girly things with an umbrella. It’ll be like old times, when we used to sneak in.”

“Oh, I don’t know Ruby. David would probably freak if he came home and I wasn’t here.”

“Mary Margaret, when _aren’t_ you there?” Ruby deadpanned as she walked stealthily to her room, scanning for any signs of life in the house that didn’t belong to her; nothing, still alone. Her brother and grandmother were probably out having dinner, neither of them called to apologize yet. With all three of them being viciously stubborn, odds were they were waiting on each other to make the first move.

“Well, I guess you do have a point. And if he can leave to ‘clear his head’, I should be able to go have fun with you.” She tried to convince herself.

“You should, meet me at the bar in 30 minutes. I can’t wait to see you, it’s been like forever. I feel like you’re off at college again.” Ruby said as she rifled through her closet to find something appropriate for the impromptu girl’s night out.

“Really? So you’re not still mad at me?”

“How can I stay mad at the love of my life?”

“Okay, 30 minutes.” She giggled girlishly, “I’m so excited.”

“Me too.” Ruby allowed herself to geek for a few seconds before the panic over what to wear to their impromptu reunion flooded her senses. Spiraling around the room in a blur she did everything from dump out every drawer to trying the same shirt on twice. _OK, maybe not so boyish._ Ruby thought frantically. _She said she prefers when I surprise her with femininity._ After the fifth dress found its way to the ground, she eyed the perfect dress, there in the far corner of the dusty closet; simplistic and new, she had to wear it. _Granny must’ve bought it and snuck it in. Damn that old woman, she must’ve bought it to get me to stop moping and leave the house._ And there it was, the familiar tug at her heart. She walked over to her desk and pulled and index card from the stack on top of her Intro to Music Business textbook.

_Gran, I’m sorry for how I left today. Thank you for the dress. We’ll talk later._

_-Red_

                She colored in a heart on the corner of the paper, folded it into a triangle and stuck it in the side if the dress and under her arm; to drop off under Granny’s door before leaving. The makeup on her face was light, a hard splash of magenta spread darkly across her lips. _Work Bitch._

It wasn’t long before she was bouncing down the stairs and into a seat amongst the louder, rambunctious, hidden side of Storybrooke. The music thumped hard against her chair, the people having fun around her made her smile shyly. This day was definitely getting better. Checking her watch, she sighed anxiously. _Okay, not 30 minutes yet. Relax you psychopath._ She leaned over the bar. “Can I get two shots of 1800, an Amaretto Sour, and something fruity?”

                Originally, only one of those was drinks was meant to guzzle to dull the nervousness directed at the arrival of the person she spent so many heart wrenching nights believing to be her soulmate. Yet eight Amaretto Sours, four shots of 1800, and a watered down fruity concoction glass emptied and knocked to the floor Ruby was faced with the hard truth; they weren’t soulmates, they weren’t anything anymore. With her head on the sticky wood of the bar, she hated herself for even getting her hopes up and wasting her time.

Suddenly a sense of dread showered over her skin like acid rain. _Oh fuck, Regina. Fuck._ She screamed internally, remembering that there was somewhere she was supposed to be instead of sitting alone in a war waiting for someone who obviously considers her a lesser option.Turning her phone over, she looked at the time. _Dammit._ Putting the phone to her ear she could only manage to hear the two guys to the left of her shouting at each other about football scores. “Could you _shut up_?” The heaviness in her words ringing with all the alcohol she consumed. “I can’t hear over your fucking cackling.” She pushed the beer from his hand and laughed when it shattered against the concrete floor.

                “That’s it! Strike 1 Ruby.” The bar tender said with arms tightly folded over his chest.

                “Fuck you guy, I’m trying to make a call.”

                “Strike 2!”

                “Strike 3 bitch, now what? What are you gonna do about it Jaaake?”

* * *

The phone vibrating across her desk distracted her from her fervent typing. “Now either something is terribly wrong with my watch or that minute I was supposed to wait for your phone call passed about three hours ago.” Regina stated vacantly.

                “Regina…” The ending syllable in her name sliding out as if Ruby’s tongue was suddenly too heavy . “Regina, dooon’t be like that. I really meant to call you back before th-this,” she hiccupped. “But the bar was too loud.”

                “Mmmhmmm, go home Ruby.” Regina said un-amused at her intoxication. Without a second thought, she went back to typing the budget report she was working on.

                “Haha, nope. I’m coming over, it’s like a mile. I have on my comfy heels. Besides I don’t think I can feel my feet.”

                “What? Ruby, it’s after 1 am. My invitation that was extended earlier has expired.” She leafed through the last quarter’s report. “No matter, you _obviously_ had something more important to tend to.”

                “What? I’ve been drinking, so I’m a little confused.”

                “ _Believe_ me, I can tell. Let me clear it up for you dear, goodnight.” With a huff she dropped the phone on her desk and got back to the work she was trying to catch up on. _She has some nerve._ Trying to take her mind off of her ruined night, she threw herself back into completing the document. A few seconds passed and she started to feel herself cooling off, but that was short lived when her phone began to dance around across the calendar atop her desk. “What?”

                “I’m sorry Regin-”

                “I don’t have any room in my life for excuses or apologies, so you can keep your ‘sorry’.”

                “Are you really that mad? But I really am s-s-sorry, what else am I supposed to say?” Ruby whined.

                “If I have to spell everything out for you then I’d be doing entirely too much work for the both of us. This conversation is already one I’m not willing to indulge in.”

                “But fuuuuck, Regina I’m really too drunk to have this conversation. I hear you, but I can’t ‘spond quick enough.” Her voice dropped to a depressed timbre, “I’ve fucked this up.” She began to swear to herself. “God, how long have I been walking?  I get to your house so much faster in the car.”

                “Where are you? Where is your car?” Regina rolled her eyes at the situation unfolding on the other end of the phone call. There was the sound of an engine roaring obnoxiously from the other line.

                Ruby let out a short squeal, “What the fuck? Who does that? Ugh, clearly my buzz has been blown.”

“What was that?” Regina sat up in her chair, picturing hit and run scenarios.

“This asshat pulled up next to me and revved his engine. Scared the shit out of me, I almost fell.”

 _Why me?_ Regina said to herself with an exasperated sigh. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh, not you again.” Ruby muttered loudly forgetting that she wasn’t just talking to herself.

                “Where are you? Where is your car?” She asked again, hearing what had to be the car from before.

“I don’t know, but the bartender took my keys. And then- and then- and then he said if I didn’t get it under control then he was going to call my granny and Robbie,” she whined, liquor still evident in her system. “So then I left, fuck him. He can’t tell me what to do….right? But I just rememmmbered I don’t have anywhere to go. Can you just unlock the door? I don’t wanna go home, I don’t wanna face them, I just wanna come see y-” Ruby’s rant was interrupted by a deep voice. Regina couldn’t quite make out what it was saying; she could only hear Ruby’s responses. “Dude, really? No. Seriously, don’t be that guy. Desperation will never get you laid. Byyyyeeeeeeeeee. “ The last diss was sung childishly. “No really, you can leave now.”

“Ruby, what’s going on? Who is that?” Regina’s questions were met by chatter in the background. She turned stood up and turned on the overhead light in her study as she hear Ruby begin to casually argue with a male voice.

 “Dude, I’m good. Stranger danger, I have somewhere to be …. I have somewhere right now and it’s not with you.”

“What’s going on Ruby?” Regina asked trying to get Ruby to remember that she was mid phone conversation.

“Huh?” Ruby said into the phone, hearing her name pulled her back into focus but not for long. “Dude, I am so _NOT_ interested. I like pussy. You’re disqualifiiiiiied.” She taunted at the mystery figure. “Can’t you see I’m on the phone? Why are you still following me?”

White hot panic rolled over Regina’s spine as she listened to the woman fuss at an apparent stalker. Although she was still pissed the younger woman stood her up, she couldn’t help but worry. She didn’t even remember putting on her heels before she was zooming out of the garage and down the street in search for the young woman. “Ruby, what street are you on?”

“Uhhhh….look for sign… look for siiiign. I’m coming off of South Main Street; I’m close! I can see the neighborhood sign.” Ruby said casually before falling back into a verbal altercation with the mystery man.

After completely disregarding the fourth stop sign Regina’s black Mercedes came to a screeching halt in front of a very intoxicated Ruby and a red convertible driving slowly behind her. From the inside of her car, she watched as Ruby stood slightly off balance mouthing something lewd most likely; the phone waving in the air to accentuate her point.

“Babe, awwwwwww you did not have to come get me.” She said putting the phone back to her ear.

 _Babe? Well…..that’s…..new? Babe?_   Regina baulked at the title and almost got sidetracked by her thoughts. When she noticed the young man leaning over into his passenger seat to open his door, she honked the horn and stepped menacingly out of the car. “Excuse me.”

“Com-Commissioner Mills,” the man stuttered out as soon as he noticed the woman glaring at him.

Her thin black heels, carried her over to the driver’s seat of the convertible and slammed the half open door, “Mr. Cranson, I have it on good authority that when a woman tells you ‘no’ it does not mean ‘convince me’ or ‘try harder’. It means ‘back off or I’ll call the cops’ or even better ‘leave me alone or I’ll make you pay for it with a limb’.” The young red headed man sat in his car shocked still. “You seem to be a little slow on the draw at this concept. And I really hoped this wasn’t going to be the case but since it is, for further analysis and the sake of good old reprimanding you and your mother can bring yourselves to my office first thing Monday morning. And since it is her day off, I mean _first_ thing. I’m sure she’d be overjoyed to find out the nature of that meeting and how her son is representing her name and brand to the good women of Storybrooke.” Regina tossed her card into his passenger window, “move along now, and please don’t make me regret not having you arrested.” She gritted her teeth and forced them into the most evil smile she could muster as he sped off into the night, “Pig.” Regina turned around to find Ruby already in the passenger seat of her car, her nose almost to the mirror as she tried to reapply her lipstick. Taking a calming breath, she eased herself back behind the wheel of her car and began to drive them towards Mifflin St.

 “My hero,” Ruby swooned.

“Ruby, that was beyond dangerous.” Regina scolded.

“I could’ve handled him. I’ve beaten up bigger guys than him sober.”

“That’s not-” She slammed on the breaks before looking hastily at the deer eyeing her black beauty from across the dark canopy of blooming spring trees. _How did I get myself into this situation? I’m going to get into an accident out here. She’s cute, you said, she’s nice you said. It’s been so long…you said. Just try._ She sighed again, turning on the radio to calm her nerves and steady her attitude. _But she’s just so… young; and not in a good way. Is there a good way? Dammit, why can’t this be easy?_ “That’s not the point Ruby, anything could have happened to you. You’re a woman who is drunk and walking down an empty street, _alone_.” Regina took a deep breath as she pulled the car to a stop at the crosswalk, obeying traffic laws on the way back home to erase all those she broke on the way to her destination.

“And what’s the point?” Ruby asked while leaning over the gear shift. “I only wanted to see you…” She slid herself closer, “Is that a crime?” her fingers toyed with the buttons of Regina’s grey dress shirt. “Besides, who can focus on anything when you look so fucking hot in those glasses?” She brushed her lips against Regina’s. “Hmm?” Ruby pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and shifted her thighs to quell her rising arousal.

Regina was putty; you couldn’t have paid her to remember what she was talking about. Still at the stop sign, she had trouble recalling the actual direction of her home. _And then she does that. And she feels it, she wants to do it. Shit, I want to do it. Being showered by her attention is so addicting; she has this magnetism._ The only thing she could focus on at the moment was the young brunette slowly sliding into her lap while letting her seat back.

“Take me home?” Ruby asked softly as she leaned in and placed a wet kiss on the base of Regina’s neck. She plopped back over to the passenger seat and giggled.

It took Regina a few seconds to recollect her bodily functions. _And then, I’m reminded why I’m outside in the dead of night chauffeuring. Will this be what it’s like when Henry gets older? How he will be with his friends? His girlfriend? Flailing around, trying to escape from life because it’s not at all like he dreamed when he was younger._ Her knuckles began to turn white from the death grip she had on the steering wheel. Her mind flipped back to Ruby on top of her a second ago, it was unnatural how easy it would have been for the young woman to take her right there in the middle of the street.

“I need more liquor.” She let out a small hum when her head began to swim as the trees in the mirror passed faster. “Stop thinking, you’re being weird.” Ruby laughed from the other side of the car, her head swaying slightly with each word. Her eyes closed slowly to appease her growing dizziness.

“I am not.” Regina sucked her teeth, and with the roll of a shoulder tried to appear more relaxed.

“That’s what weird people say,” Ruby smiled, but kept her lids shut.

“Why did I even try?” Regina gave a small chuckle, “You cannot rationalize with a drunk person.”

“Whatever, I’m very ratio…rashes…radishes….what the fuck is that word?” She hiccupped, “rational!”

Regina rolled her eyes as they pulled into the garage. “Get out.”

“Are you still mad?”

“Did you really think you could get over that easy? You stood me up. I am _no one’s_ second option.”

“Help meeeee,” Ruby whined as the struggle with the door handle began to become unbearable.

“How in the world did you let yourself get this drunk? How much did you have to drink?”

“I don’t knoooow; you weren’t there to stop me. Nobody was, except that stupid bartender Jake. He’s a dick. He’s hated me since high school. Baby, can you beat him up? Regina, can you go get my keys from him? He’s been trying to get revenge on me since I fucked his girlfriend. But that totally wasn’t my fault, she came on to me. What if he steals my car?” Ruby clutched at her chest and gasped, “What if he tries to steal my baby?!” She sank back into the passenger seat.

 _Baby? The hell? She called me baby right? Am I going crazy?_ Anything the woman said after that endearing term slipped from her mouth was inaudible. Regina looked down at the younger woman’s facial expression; the sad innocence in her eyes made her think a child that’s lost their balloon or dropped a tray of cookies. “Would you relax?” Regina demanded, more so to herself than Ruby. She gave her a pointed look and pulled her back to a standing position. “I’ll call the bar when I get you safely into the house.” With an arm slung around her waist, she led them towards the open door to the kitchen. 

“You can sleep in the guest room. It’s behind my office, down that hallway to the left.” She pointed, her previous annoyance making a vengeful return.

“Do you smoke?”

“What? No.”

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about cigarettes.”

“Well, I don’t smoke anything. Wait, what else is there to smoke? What are you smoking?”

“This,” Ruby leaned against the marble island in the middle of the kitchen and pulled two thinly rolled cigars from behind her left ear. Dropping them on the table she smiled.

“What are those?”

“Only the finest loud,” Ruby smiled lazily, her eyes finding their way closed again somehow. “This one is OG Kush and this one is Green Crack mixed with Sour Diesel… orrr this one is Green Crack and this one is OG Kush mixed with Sour Diesel.” She pointed animatedly and the two rolled leaf papers and then shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t judge me; I didn’t really have time to fully prepare.” She said leaning a little too far to the left and almost falling off her perch. Eyes never opening, she caught herself innately before Regina could even get her hands out.  The stumble in front of her awakened the cat like abilities she gained from raising a rambunctious child who tried to stand and walk before crawling. “What’s wrong? ….” Ruby realized that Regina didn’t respond; she opened her eyes to find her with a confused glare. “It’s just weed woman, geeze! Live a little, it makes life _way_ more enjoyable.”

“Well we’ll see about that.” She stuck an aggravated hand to her hip.

“Babe are you gonna smoke with me?” Ruby crossed her fingers and squeezed her eyes shut as if she was making a birthday wish.

“Babe?” Regina raised an eyebrow, her head shaking disapprovingly.

“I’m drunk, it’s a thing. Just go with it.” She waved each word off trivially. Tossing her clutch at the unsuspecting woman, she gave an impressed thumbs-up when she was able to catch it low before it could touch the floor. “Batting her eyelashes slightly, Ruby leaned over the counter and pushed the revealing neckline of the hunter green dress farther apart; exposing more skin. “Could you pass me my lighter out of there?”

Before thinking, Regina was looking for through the bag coming up with a grey lighter with tiny words written in red permanent ink on the side. She held it in the direction of the light in an attempt to transcribe the words written on it. Without her contacts in, it might as well have been hieroglyphics. “If you want to…” She stopped, needing to reassess the rest of the sentence before she confirmed herself crazy; she wasn’t. “…to have sex with me, smile when you give this lighter back.” She looked up into Ruby’s grin and couldn’t help the one that was spreading across her face; the corniness of the pickup line tearing away at her attitude. “So that’s how you reel ‘em in, huh?” She asked stalking forward, stopping short of Ruby’s end of the countertop.

“Not really, I hardly ever share my lighter. You are very lucky.” Hooking a finger through one of her belt loops, Ruby pulled Regina tight to her.

“So what comes next after the smile?” She relaxed hesitantly into the arms encasing her.

“I show you how cool I am,” She took the lighter and handbag from the woman’s fingertips and walked over to place her belongings in the basket hanging on the wall. The basket that showed up after the third time Ruby lost her keys somewhere in the house. “After the smile, I’m supposed to….impress you.” She gave a slight blush before looking up at the dark eyed beauty across from her. “But you’re different. You’re harder, better even. I don’t know what it is about you but…it makes me want to be responsible for your happiness. Do you get it?” She turned around to face the fridge, needing a break from eye contact she shifted on the balls of her feet and put on lip gloss in her reflection in the steel. “Never mind, don’t answer that.” Her nervousness began to make its way to the surface. She laughed at the fool she was making of herself.

“Well, I’m going up to bed. Let me know if you need anything.” Her heels began to signal her retreat.

Noticing the depth of sound she hummed, “the acoustics are great in here.” And in that moment she knew what to do to get on the right side of this situation, relying on the one thing that never fails her. “Stay with me.”

“What?”

“Stay with me, baby please stay with me.” She sang with her eyes clenched shut. The alcohol was about to do one of two things to her; succeed in showing how she really feels, or make her look like a complete idiot. Either outcome, she was not going to have any excuse because she was giving her best. “Tonight, don’t leave me alone.”

“What do you think you-”

“Walk with me, come and walk with me. To the edge of all we’ve ever known.” Ruby’s voice resonated around the room as she turned around slowly and shot her a nervous glance before her eyes were closed again. “I can see you there with the city lights, fourteenth floor, big brown eyes. I can breathe you…in.” She could feel Regina’s eyes on her, knew she was watching with rapt attention. “Two shadows standing by the bedroom door.” With every word, she strode across the linoleum floor until she had the cultivated woman swept up in her arms, slowly pulling apart at her stiff resistance. “No, I could not want you more than I would right then.”

Still holding onto her shoulders, the imploring woman leaned back and searched for any sign that her attempt at swaying the outcome of the situation she was falling into. “As our heads leaned in,” she sang bringing their lips closer, stopping shy of a kiss. Regina looked away, not ready to show which direction Ruby’s performance was moving her in. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and started again. “Well, I’m not sure what this is gonna be. But with my eyes closed all I see, is the skyline, through the window. The moon above you and the streets below. Hold my breath as you’re moving in.” She uncrossed the arms folded reluctantly in front of her and kissed the knuckles on each hand. “Taste your lips and feel your skin,” Ruby’s cheek melted into her softness of her palm. “When the time comes…baby don’t run. Just kiss…me…slowly.” With every crooned syllable, Ruby brought her lips to meet the ones anxiously awaiting them; sweeping them into a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around the smaller woman’s frame. Their faces separated with a hard smack, “are you impressed? Would you like to hang out sometime?”

Regina smirked, remembering where their conversation was before. _Well played._ “Sure.”

“Then I just put your number in my phone and walk away all mysterious like.”

“But I already have your number…” Regina ran manicured nails down her sternum.

“You’re right,” Ruby scratched at her temples in thought. “I guess I could just fast forward.” Closing the gap between their bodies, the lively woman swept them up in an intense kiss rendering the other woman speechless. “Tonight, I made a _giant_ mistake. And for that I’m not apologizing, but I’m taking back with me a very important lesson. Even of this doesn’t work out; you will always be my first choice in everything.” She kissed the backside of Regina’s hands. “I’m pretty sure this isn’t the best I can do for trying to get you to understand how I feel, but for the amount of vodka I drank this is the best of my ability.” The growing sound of laughter between them filled the kitchen.

Regina’s smile faded when a thought shot to the forefront of her mind. “Do you do this to all the women you want in your life?”

“Just you,”

“Let’s keep it that way.”

“Just give me a chance?”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used here is called “Kiss Me Slowly” (Written by Lady Antebellum, sung by Parachute)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello beautiful people. Thank you for sticking with me so far. If you guys comment more then I’ll be forced to update faster lol. Hope everything is good with you all. You know where to find me and my PM is always open :)

** Chapter 10 **

Regina could taste the liquor on her tongue; the sweetness of whatever the woman in her arms had been indulging in caused an intoxication of another kind. Never savoring enough, as soon as their lips broke apart she found herself desperate for more. Another nip at her bottom lip, another swipe of tongue, another chance to push them further to the inevitable edge they were honing in on. Regina pressed at the small waist until their hips collided and crashed into the hard marble of the countertop. She wanted to stand her ground; she wanted to remain as unchanged as stone. But the S.O.S. her mind was sending to her body never reached the appropriate synapse. Ruby’s palms splayed tightly against her back caused her breathing to go uneven. The nails raked across the fabric covering her shoulder blade birthed a moan, whimpered out at a key higher than normal.

“You are _so_ sexy,” Ruby placed both hands around her jaws and pulled her lips closer. She kissed her hungrily. “But I need to stop.” Her mouth said one thing, but her hands betrayed her when they began to slowly unbutton the silk shirt in front of them.

“This certainly doesn’t feel like stopping.” Regina gripped the lofty woman’s long tresses and tugged lightly. The tongue hot and slick massaging the tender spot under her ear caused a warm tingle to roll across her chest and the whisper of a name to fall from her lips.

“Fuck, I wish you understood where my hands are dying to be right now.” Her hands snatched at the lace fabric, releasing a chestnut colored nipple. Hardening under the intensity of her fingertips, Ruby sighed heavily against her ear; exhilarated by how sensitive the smaller woman’s body was. She snagged the bud between her thumb and forefinger. Pulling the flesh towards her she kissed under the gasping woman’s ear, “this is just a distraction.” Like magnets, their lips found each other again, “I have to stop.”

As she began to pull away, Regina grabbed at the back of her neck. Unwilling to let this feeling go she peppered kisses against her jaw line, “why?”

“Because…I’m no good right now.” She laughed nervously, Ruby untangled the fingers clasped at the base of her neck and placed a single kiss in each palm before pressing them on the cool counter. “I wanna be the best for you” She placed gentle kisses against the petite woman’s clavicle and sighed. “And because when I take you upstairs for the first time, I plan on giving you my _undivided_ attention,” she growled slightly when her tongue did a final swipe along the saltiness of the Latina’s neck; showing her reluctance to stop. As she leaned back up, chocolate eyes washed over her. Ruby tugged at her bottom lip to keep from lashing out and throwing her on top of the counter.

 _Jesus._ Regina could have spontaneously combust. “I need some air.” Like magic she was out of Ruby’s grasp, leaping from the stoop into the back yard. She couldn’t hear herself think over how loud her body was screaming at her to drag them both to the ground. Brisk air whipped around her. _What am I doing?_

 “You never answered my question,” the flick of the lighter contrasted alongside the silence of nighttime.

“No not directly, in college my best friend tried her hardest to convince me it was a good idea.” The timbre in Regina’s voice gave away her body’s uneasiness. Counting the stars through the branches of her flourishing apple tree, she beamed at the memory of her catching a contact high by accident from Kathryn’s antics.

“It’s always a good idea. I’m going to need to meet this friend. How long have you guys known each other?” Ruby asked plainly, her voice eerily cool as if they weren’t dangerously close to taking each other on the kitchen floor five minutes ago.

“A lifetime,” Regina laughed and sat down on top of the picnic table, voice still prickly from the previous conversation. “Since we were 14, we went to the same all girls school; Bennington Academy.” Her fingers unconsciously played with the hairs at the base of her scalp.

“Well, how did you guys meet?” Ruby sat next to her and tapped the ash off the blunt into the grass.

“That’s a very funny story actually.” She smirked, “when my mother had me sent to boarding school, they had already begun classes. So everyone was cliqued off already and I was the odd man out. So one day in French, this giant beast of a girl starts a fight with me because I was better than her at this silly game we were playing. She said something obnoxious that hurt my innocent feelings and before I could say anything, Kathryn threw a book at her and made her apologize.” Chuckling, she looked over and noticed Ruby’s attentive smile. “It was the craziest thing, and after I thanked her I told her I could fight my own battles. And then she pinched me and said ‘shut up you owe me now, and one of these days I’m gonna cash in’. She’s like a bad cold; I couldn’t get rid of her if I tried.”

“That’s really awesome, reminds me of me and my friends.” Ruby leaned her head against Regina’s shoulder. “We’ve been through everything together. Does she live far? Does she come to visit? How do you guys make time for each other?”

“She lives in Boston and I don’t know we just do; we’ve found what works for us.” Not really trying to share everything about their abstruse relationship through the years. Middle school sisterhood, high school experimenting, college everything, Daniel, Daniel’s death, the miscarriage, mother leaving, daddy’s death. This turn in conversation began to spawn feelings she longed to keep covered, especially under the eyes of others. But Ruby wasn’t just “others”; she was someone she was trying to let in, someone that made her happy without preamble. _What am I doing?_ Regina asked herself again, not ready to dig through her mind to discover the answer. She tried to think of something positive, the only real positive in her life anymore. “She’s Henry’s godmother, like a sister to me. We answer each other’s calls no matter what; it’s just how we are. I could just think about her and my phone rings, but we don’t take each other for granted and give each other space. We are completely honest with each other; we have been through more than you want to know.”

“Maybe I just need to wait a little longer.” Ruby said, wrapped up in thought.

“Hmm? What are you talking about?” She furrowed her eyebrows together.

“My best friend M was supposed to come meet me and cheer me up. But I got stood up for her fucking boyfriend; that I only pretend to like. I hadn’t seen my best friend of twelve years in over a month. We used to do _everything_ together, and she hasn’t talked to me in two weeks.”

“Sounds like there’s more to that story, but I’ll stay out of it. Your friend will realize what is happening to her and then you guys will fix it. When Kathryn was first married…to this asshole…she was stuck up under him. It was like he shit sunshine to her.” She waved a confused hand, “and then my once outspoken, outlandish, best friend became a silent doting housewife. She changed herself completely for this guy. It’s not that she didn’t have time for me anymore; I can understand that, we’re adults. But she hardly made time to answer an email or even to ask after Henry. And Henry looks at his Aunt Kathryn like a second Santa Clause. She even quit her job, stopped booking shows, writing music, and working on Broadway. That made us fall out. I could not stand her wasting her talent and potential. I told her exactly how I felt.”

“And how did that go?”

“Not well,” Regina looked up and studied the pale color of the moon.

A dense mushroom shaped cloud of smoke spilled from Ruby’s nostrils, “What happened then?”

“I guess she started to realize that I was telling the truth, she was no longer allowed to participate in the activities she loved. She realized that she was pushing out all the wonderful things that made her…her?” Regina flexed an eyebrow in search for understanding her poor phrasing. “She started to go back to doing things that made _her_ happy and not just him. She got an offer to lead a new music program at one of the greatest art based institutions in the country by one of our former professor’s. In her first few months she was taking the program to new heights, recruiting talented students, gaining sponsors, and making enough money to pay for all of us to spend a week in Greece. He wasn’t happy with that though, I couldn’t begin to tell you why. He was weak minded, started sleeping with one of his employees. ”

“Whoa, that’s tough.” The air around them grew hazier with each puff. Ruby blew a trail of “o” shaped smoke rings into the night’s sky. “What did she do?”

“Divorced him, she was heartbroken.” Regina sighed hesitantly, “She should have just let me have him taken care of.” Regina growled into the breeze, clenching her fist in her lap.

A pleasant pressure against her lungs, she took another deep drag. Ruby stepped down and pulled the woman into a spontaneous kiss, transporting the bright grey colored smoke from her chest into the smaller woman’s mouth. “For some strange reason, I believe you have the power to make him disappear.”

“Oh darling, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”Regina jumped slightly when a cloud appeared from her lips and dissipated into the sky.

“I shouldn’t be turned on right? You’re so adorable when you’re protective.” She put out the cigar and dropped it in the pocket on the backside of her clutch.

                “I’m not adorable, I’m menacing.” She fixed her face into an evil grin, faltering a little when the woman grabbed onto her wrist and nipped at her fingertips. “I’m frightening; people have left my office weeping.”

                “Mhmm, downright terrifying;” between laughs, kisses peppered their way to across olive toned cheekbones.

                “But…I’m scary.” Her palms began to tingle slightly as the air around her began to feel lighter; a feeling that had to be an after effect of Ruby’s smoke trick.

                “You don’t scare me.”

                “Well, I should. You scare me.” She covered her mouth, shocked that the line came from her.

                “I scare you?” Ruby leaned forward, eyes searching the suddenly stoic woman to her left. “How do I scare you Regina?” Bumbling and slurring Ruby had left the building, what was present was her tranquil, philosophical counter. 

                “No, not you; _this thing_ that’s we’re doing. This game we’re playing with the unknown scares me.” She hoped her honesty showed through her vulnerability.

                “That’s what scares me too. I’ve never done any of this right. Never had someone that I felt didn’t want anything from me. You don’t pressure me, and I don’t want to lose that.” Her lips found their way to her palms again. She placed them over her eyes, “I’m sorry, I’m ruining the moment.”

                “No, tell me how you really feel. I need that, people just tell me what they think I want to hear.”

                “Okay, I think I can do that.”

                “If I may ask, what happened tonight?”

                “I’m a fucking idiot is what happened.”

                “No argument here at the moment,” she said with a smirk.

                “Rude!” Ruby pushed at her shoulder. “But I guess I deserved that.”

                “Right, I’m surprised I’m even still entertaining you.”

                Ruby’s head dropped slightly with acknowledgement of the brunette sitting next to her. With a sigh she stated, “M and I have been best friends since a month after my dad died. You see, my mom couldn’t stand living in our old house. My dad’s stuff was everywhere, he somehow claimed every room by secretly leaving his watches or hats or t-shirts all over.” She smiled to herself, remembering how she used to play dress up with the clothes he left in her room. “When he died, my mom kind of lost it. He was what held her together; held us all together really. After he died, one day my mom dropped us off at my granny’s and didn’t come back for eight years. M became what held me together, she was the only thing I could look forward too; and it seemed like when we met I introduced her to life outside of her front door. We ate, slept, and breathed each other’s company for…” She counted on her fingers, “12 years before we had our first fight. She placed air quotes around the word ‘fight’.

                “So what happened tonight?” She scooted closer.

                “It wasn’t really tonight. I guess I’ve known for a year or so now that I’m no longer important to her. That fight I just mentioned was about her douchebag boyfriend, who I might add, was someone’s _husband_ during the beginning of their relationship.” She rolled her eyes and took in a solemn breath, “She used to be able to tell when something was wrong, even when we weren’t together. And this evening she called…I thought….” Ruby pushed herself off of the table and began to pace under the moonlight streaming through the tree branches above the. “I thought it was like old times and she could tell what kind of day I had been dealing with. For a second I dismissed the issues and let her words fill me with the hope that the things could go back to how they were. When shit was easy and I was happy; to before we became adults and everything became fucked.” She peered over her shoulder at the woman watching her with deep understanding. “I really only meant to spend 30 minutes out, but every time the door swung open hope had me pinned to my seat waiting for her to walk into the door with that dumb look on her face that she gets when she’s trying not to appear too happy. But no matter how many times the bell over the bar door rang the person walking through was never her.”

                “She never showed up?” Regina asked softly, subconsciously already knowing the answer.

                “I waited for three hours…. _three fucking hours_ and she has yet had the decency to call.” She kicked at the grass and pouted at her hurt feelings. After a few moments of tense silence, the younger woman’s stance straightened as if nothing had ever been distressing her. “Tonight won’t happen again,” Ruby pulled her into an embrace, the woman’s small frame stiffened in her grasp. “Hug me back dammit,” She said in faux anger as she poked at the woman’s ribs.

                “That is so not fair, you cannot get your way simply because you know I’m ticklish.” Regina laughed out and escaped the woman’s hold.

                “That’s fine, be like that. You’re gonna miss how much I want to hold you when I’m not around.”

                “Are you going somewhere?”

                “No,” she laughed nervously and scratched her head. “But on those long days at work next week or when you’re busy being Mayor Mills next year and our schedules clash you’re gonna miss these arms.” Ruby grinned cockily and bumped her hip against the Latina as she walked towards the direction of the glass paned kitchen door.

                “Is that so?” Regina cocked an apathetic eyebrow. Before she could cross her arms for emphasis, the animated woman had her backed up against the side of the table. The young brunette pressed their chests tautly against each other before sliding her body down Regina’s frame and lifting her up onto the top of the table.

                “You tell me,” Ruby said, peering deeply into chocolate eyes. She brought her lips close to the other woman’s, stepping back when Regina tried to close the distance. Not giving her the satisfaction of following through, she winked before giving off her best shit-eating grin and walked back to the entryway.

                “What am I gonna do with you?” Regina shook her head and fought off a chuckle at being bested by the 20 something. She joined her at the door and walked over the threshold.

                “Well, that’s a loaded question. Maybe I can draw some diagrams.” She struggled to keep a straight face when cropped black hair spun around, “for future references of course.” She snickered and failed at an attempt to dodge a hard slap to her left arm. “Ow!”

                “You are going to be so much trouble.” Regina rolled her eyes and smiled softly when Ruby’s long arms wrapped around her midsection from behind. Melting into the young beauty’s embrace, she sighed losing herself in a moment of bliss. Regina’s smirk widened as Ruby buried her face within her dark locks and laughed deeply.

                “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

* * *

 

“Sup kid? Where’s your mom?” Ruby asked as she pulled Henry into a hug and led him into the basement apartment.

“Whoa! This place is awesome!” Henry exclaimed as he threw his bookbag onto the leather couch. “Who lives here? I thought you lived with Granny?”

“You like it? I’m staying here while my best friend is away at college. I still live with Gran kind of.” She moved around the kitchen and pulled down rice crispy treats from one of the cabinets. “Well my room and most of my stuff is still there. We just decided that I kinda need some space for a while. You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“Doubt it,” he bit into his treat and grinned innocently at her. “I’m never leaving my house. My mom takes care of me. She says I’ll be her prince no matter how old I get.” He took another bite, “and besides, my XBOX360 is there.” Henry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“You make a valid point.” Ruby laughed, ruffling his hair and walking back into the living room of the spacious apartment. “But just remember this conversation when you’re 25.” She opened his bookbag and pulled out his notebooks. “Your mom said before we do anything your homework has to be finished. And I like death about as much as the next guy, so your homework has to be comple-,” uneasiness rolled over her body as she noticed the handwriting on the folder marked Henry’s Homework. “I didn’t know you were in Ms. Blanchard’s class.”

“Yeah, she’s the best. She’s my favorite teacher ever, was she your teacher too?”

“Ha, no. We’re the same age! Ms. Blanchard and me were in the same class at Storybrooke Elementary when I was your age.”

“That is so cool.” He said with wide eyes, the sugar obviously careening through his bloodstream.

“It was. Oh great, you already did your homework?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot I did it. I was bored when we had silent reading and I already finished my book this morning.” He shrugged again then balled up the candy wrapper and walked it over to the trashcan.

“You did your homework when you didn’t have to? You are so much like Regina it’s scary.” She chuckled as she put the contents of his book bag back together on the counter. “I have an idea for what to do today! I’ve figured out how to incorporate you into the show today.” She danced around him and pushed him towards the living room. Plopping into the rolling chair situated in front of what looked like a makeshift studio. Littered around the oversized desk a mini keyboard, beat pad, and studio USB microphone laid connected to the computer. “We’re gonna make a song, you down? You’re gonna be in charge of the beat go get your bookbag. I have an idea how you can make it using your everyday school stuff.” She let out a pleased sigh at his matched enthusiasm when he disappeared off from behind her.

“We’re gonna make a song using my notebooks and pencils?”

“The beat is simple and I have the basic construction trapped in my head. We’ll use the computer to layer the sound and put it together piece by piece.” Ruby explained how their experiment was going to go and taught Henry how to use the equipment surrounding them. She loved how eager he was to learn about how to make music with her and how easy he soaked up the information. After a couple hours of getting acclimated with the direction they wanted their production to go in they began to lay down layers of sound to develop the hip beat of the song. “Are you ready to do this thing?” She asked turning on the camera on top of the computer.

“Yes! This is going to be on camera?”

“Duh, I do run a web show. I thought I sent a link to a few shows for you and your mom to watch. You guys didn’t watch them? My ego is in tears right now.” She said missing the apprehension in his tone originally, when he didn’t answer she turned to face him. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, I’ve never been on camera before.”

“That’s the big problem?” Ruby pulled his chair closer to hers and placed a pair of Ray Ban’s over his eyes. “Ther’s nothing to it, just gotta look cool while you’re doing it.” She hooked an arm around the boy’s neck and pulled him close to her. “You up for it?” She tickled his sides until he gave in.

“Ok, hold on.” Henry grinned happily as he jumped up from his seat and ran around the apartment.

“You have 25 seconds.” Ruby said as she signed into the band’s streaming account. She pulled her hair into a messy bun as the screen began a three second countdown. “Wassup wassup wassup! Uhm Ruby here, as promised. For those of you tuning in for the first time today, what took you so long? Just kidding, for those of you that are first time viewers to our new show my name is Ruby, and I’m the lead singer slash guitarist for Fairytale Rejects. And to our loyal viewers…uhh…Today we have a special guest!” She turned the camera to peer over her shoulder at the brunet dropping his cell phone onto the couch and bouncing over beside her. “Introduce yourself.”

“Hi, I’m Henry.” He said with a slight blush covering his cheeks.

“Today we’re being sooo freaking cool. I got this idea earlier today when getting ready to help Henry with his homework.” She moved the camera around so it could fit the two of them in the frame. “I’m on vocals today, and my child prodigy over here is on percussion. He will be making a sick background for me using…” She rifled through his open X-Men backpack and held up the contents, “notebooks, pencils, pencil case, and of course his lovely voice.” She beamed graciously and rubbed his shoulders, “you ready?”

“Yep!” Henry pulled up the program she was teaching him how to use and pushed the sunglasses up higher on his face.

“Whenever you’re ready, and it’s cool if we have to start over or fix it as we go.”

“It’s ok, I’ve got it.” Henry nodded and counted off before he started rubbing his notebooks together rhythmically.

“Ok then.” She nodded approvingly. Ruby watched him with rapt attention, going over everything they rehearsed perfectly. She smiled to herself; _he is such a little perfectionist like her_. With his eyebrows fused together, Henry began to construct the song better than they practiced earlier, almost making Ruby forget to even start singing.

 _There's nothing I want but money and time_  
Million dollar bills and a tick tick tick tick  
There's nothing more cruel than only nine lives  
A limit in spite will do the trick trick trick trick

 _We can leave the house lead the party let the people know_  
Go drown the colors of our minds and watch the cars go  
  
There's nothing as fun as coming untied  
And running with the kids in the park park park park  
There's nothing that's hurt like letting you go  
It's like a bird eyes in the dark dark dark dark  
  
We can leave the house lead the party let the people know  
Go drown the colors of our minds and watch the cars go  
  
It's not about just being out with all our people  
Cause we can get in trouble just by going free throw  
And now I'm letting you know and now I'm letting you know

“Okay, that’s it for my segment today. Hope you enjoyed that! Send a special shout out for Henry in the comments and reviews. Ari will be on at 4 from Boston. We’re having a secret show on Friday in Augusta at midnight, this is really for you fans out there so send in votes to our Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr for what songs you want us to perform. The top 5 will be our set list, check the link for club info. I better see all…” Ruby looked down at the viewer count, “753 of you there! Or else Henry is coming to kick your door down.” She messed with his hair and pinched at his cheeks until he was all squirms and giggles. “Thanks again for watching, peace.” They let the computerized beat continue as they danced in their chairs and gave each other high fives for a few seconds before shutting off the camera. “That was amazing Henry, you’re awesome. I wish your mom was here to see that.”

“It’s ok, she watched at work. I told her to go to the link you sent us.” He bounced up from his seat to retrieve his cell phone from the couch. He smiled wide as he read the words across the screen, “She loved it, see.” Henry handed her the thin touch screen phone.

**Mommy:**

**You did a great job honey! Just brilliant, I’m very proud of you. Love Mom.**

                “Well she didn’t say anything about me. I was there too!” Ruby fake cried on his shoulder.

                “It’s ok, one day you’ll be as great as me.” Henry said slyly as he rubbed her back.

                “Ok! That’s it!” Ruby yelled before throwing him over her shoulder. “I’m gonna put you in the oven. No! The trash can, yes that sounds better.” She bounced his squirming body up and down on her shoulder before flipping him upside down over the trash bin in the far corner of the kitchen.

                “Put me down!” He laughed.

                “Take it back!” She squeezed at his sides playfully.

                “No!” Henry giggled out.

                “Ok, I’m putting you in the toilet.”

                “OK! OK! I take it back!” He squealed.

                “That’s more like it.” Ruby chuckled before tossing him onto the bed. “Now go put your shoes on so we can go hang with Emma at the station. If you’re quick maybe I can steal us some pie from Granny.”

                “Yes!” Henry sprang from the bed and sprinted down the hall. Before she could make her way back to the living room Henry was already standing by the door with his backpack ready to go. “C’mon!”

                “Alright, excited much?” Ruby pushed him out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind her. “We have to be chill; your mother would kill us both if she caught us eating pie before I got you dinner.”

                “Well should I do it now or wait until you’ve actually done it.” Both Henry and Ruby spun around in shock to find Regina standing at the top of the stairwell. The terrified look on both of their faces caused her to burst into laughter. “You two are too easy.”

                “You so scared the crap out of us.” Ruby said walking up and placing a chaste kiss to her temple.

                “Good, you never know where I’ll be. And trust that I have eyes all over this city, even when I’m not with you I’m with you. Isn’t that right Henry?” She smirked and leaned down to kiss the crown of his head.

                “Yep,” he looked at Ruby mirroring his mother’s expression.

                “Now what was that about pie before dinner?” She linked her arm around Ruby’s and followed her son out to the foyer of the apartment building.

                “Oh nothing,” Ruby said coyly.

                “Mmmhm. Well I suppose, since the two of you weren’t planning on going to granny’s to load up on sugar before dinner I shouldn’t suggest that maybe this once we could indulge. Beside’s Henry will be with Emma tonight, and if anyone should have to put up with him bouncing off the walls it’s her.”

                “Rude,” Ruby laughed out as she held the door open for them to the diner.

                “Is there a problem with that?” Regina flexed an eyebrow.

                “Nope, no complaints here.”

                “Good.”

                “Gosh, you are kinda scary.”

                “Told you so,” Regina nudged her proudly before she took her seat in the far booth.

                “Whatever, you’re a big gummy bear.”

                “I am not.”

                “We’ll see.”

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used for Ruby and Henry’s segment is titled Million Dollar Bills by Lorde. (If you’re not a fan or her yet, shame on you lol)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To my beautiful readers, I'm sorry for having such a big gap between updates. Amid depression, picking up a second job, and the loss of my grandmother I've tried to put this chapter together little by little. I first want to thank Karla my wonderful co-conspirator for all her help and words of encouragement. I love youuuuu. And I want to thank all of you that are reading this because you could have said "to hell with her" and I'm glad you didn't. Please let me know what you think. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ! ! Depending on the response and comments I could change my outlook on chapter 12 (that will be published on the 12th). Get at me on twitter thelovemasheen_ or tumblr or PM

**Chapter 11**

"Yo, let me get that pink v-neck. There's this thing on campus next Sunday for breast cancer awareness, and it's the first day of my new Artistry class; I have those yellow Doc's that I bought a couple of months ago still in the box. I've been waiting to showcase. I sweet talked the lady at the registrar's office and got her to slide me into the program director's class." Ariel called over her shoulder, as she styled her hair in the floor-length mirror, to the woman who just rolled out of bed at 1:30 in the afternoon. Ruby's zombie-like figure mumbled something of a positive response as she slowly made her way to the bathroom.

"Cool. Are you still excited about living on your own or has boredom crept in and made you soft for Granny's company?" The redhead laughed when she noticed Ruby's reflection let go of the lime green tooth-brush and give her the finger. She turned back around to fawn over her reflection some more. "Because I know your little boo isn't coming over here to climb into bed with you. Look at all this damn exercise equipment you brought from home. You're either training to be the first female winner on American Ninja Warrior or you're not getting fucked." Ariel howled as she tried to deflect the purple Aussie Shampoo bottle flying at the back of her head.

"Oh fuck you;" Ruby rolled her eyes and leaned against the frame of the bathroom door, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. "I've just been a little stressed lately, With Gran, and trying to keep up with my online classes, and I've- I've just been…" She turned her head slightly and attempted to get the words stuck inside her throat, "…waitingfortherighttime."

"What?"

"You _heard_  me," She huffed and disappeared into the bathroom to turn the shower on.

"Yeah, I did." Ariel grinned wickedly, "She hasn't even put it on you and you are already cutting up your playa card. You've gone soft! I thought you vowed never to feel so whipped again?"

"Yeah….well maybe I have, maybe I haven't. Maybe I like this. Like her. I'm not whipped. It doesn't feel like before." Ruby said thoughtfully as she fished through the top underwear drawer. "It feels better in a way," She straightened her posture and turned to look at her best friend. "Like…we fit, ya know? Her  _personality_ ," she tried to fight the urge to smile. "The part that only a handful of people get to tap into and witness makes you feel like everything around you, no matter how fucked up, doesn't matter. With her demeanor alone, she has the power to captivate your attention. And she's so freaking hot," she growled and raked her teeth over her bottom lip while doing an obnoxious hip thrusting motion. They both fell into a fit of laughter.

"So the force is strong with this one, eh? I can dig it, take your time maestro." She said plucking a pink and white tie-dye top and dropping it into her red Nike duffle bag.

"Yea, she's coming over for lunch in about 45 minutes. And I love you, but you've got to get the fuck out." She marched over and with a sly wink gave her a kiss on the forehead and fled into the bathroom.

"Yeah, I had a great weekend with you too. No need to thank me for letting you sublet. See you tonight at 6." Throwing the heavy bag over her shoulder, she started down the hallway towards the kitchen. As soon as she turned the corner, three short unsure raps sounded from the opposite side of the door. "Oh;  _hell yes_." Ariel laughed as she dropped her duffle by the couch and looked back down the hallway to confirm that her best friend was otherwise occupied in the shower. With a deep maniacal breath she wrapped her fingers around the shiny golden doorknob.

"I'm early; my 11 o'clock was 15 minutes late to our meeting. I got tired of waiting so I left; he can cancel any favor he needed. I hate when idiots waste my time. I was going to call, but I can't find my phone. Did you remember where I put it last night?" The woman's dark hair covered most of her face as she tried to dig through her Hermes purse; adamantly searching for her lifeline.

"Uhh…no?"

When her brain registered a voice that she'd never encountered her head popped up worriedly. "Oh, hello." Regina eyed the number on the door uncomfortably and immediately dropped into professional mode. "I apologize for that outburst; does Ruby Lucas happen to stay here?"

"That depends on who's asking." Ariel waited a few beats before opening the door wider and motioning for the woman to come inside the apartment. She watched her closely, nodding approvingly at the well-tailored slacks and slim fitting grey vest as the sophisticated woman strode into the room tentatively. "So you're the one?" She raised an eyebrow menacingly.

"Now  _that_  depends on who's asking." Regina took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. Within milliseconds she accounted all the woman's features; hair color, style, the caramel tint to her skin, their height difference. Or what wouldn't really be a difference if the brunette kicked her too tall heels off; they'd be standing eye to eye as equally matched opponents. For a fragment of a moment, Regina wondered if men gave each other the same once over when they were encountering new males for the first time. Or was each woman's assessment of the other strictly belonging to their gender.

The arrogance radiating off the beautiful woman in front of her caused Ariel to smile wildly. "Ariel Sears, best friend." She extended her hand in an overly friendly gesture..

Still unconvinced of the woman's motives, Regina reached out and met her handshake firmly. "Regina Mills, Regina Mills."

The unexpected underhanded response earthed a small chuckle from Ariel as she greeted the smartly dressed woman. "Ruby just got in the shower and I was just leaving."

"Well, I hate to run you off;" Regina said dishonestly before walking over and settling her hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah, I bet. But before I go, as a standard Best Friend requirement I have to ask you a series of questions to see if you're even qualified as a love interest for her."

She raised a slightly annoyed eyebrow.  _I really didn't sign up for this_. "Seriously?" she rolled her eyes frankly and gripped a firm hand to her hip.

With an unrelenting sigh, the caramel complexioned tomboy dropped her bag back in its place by the couch. "Dead ass," Ariel mirrored Regina's demeanor down to the inflection in her eyebrow.

Not willing to give up a seemingly worthy opponent, the older woman pulled dark locks from her face and dropped her black Burberry trench onto the back of the chair and closed the door. "Bring it."

"Cool, question one: Musical background."

"First off, that's more of a statement, not a question." Regina looked at her nails for a second before continuing. "Piano from the time I was 7 until about nine years ago. I know basic cello and bass guitar." She clicked her tongue at the look of shock across the young woman's face. "Something I did in college, next?"

"Impressive, I guess." The tomboy's pose remained unchanged, but the light behind her eyes began to dance faintly with excitement.

"Oh you don't have to guess dear," she said honestly, looking down again at her cuticles disinterested.

She hummed amusedly, "The Notebook and A Walk to Remember or An Affair to Remember and American in Paris?" Ariel asked, pleased with herself.

"Eww," Regina stated without skipping a beat. "Absolutely  _not_  the first two, keep the last two, but to make it more versatile add When Harry Met Sally and Shakespeare in Love." She was obviously excelling at this impromptu quiz as another look of shock washed over her opponents face. "You have been informed that it is impolite to gawk absent-mindedly?"

Ariel's lips snapped shut at the realization that she was standing there like a deer in headlights. She cleared her throat to regain some composure, "I didn't expect you to do so…well. Ruby didn't give you these beforehand did she?"

"Oh no, believe that I did not know about this inevitable impromptu Q&A. If I did I would have done better to avoid it. Besides, I don't need to cheat. My relationship or whatever we decide to call it is with Ruby, not you. Whether you approve or disapprove is really not a deciding factor. I only agreed to this silly conversation for fun and attempt to establish faith in someone close to her. Now if I happen to land in your good graces, hooray for you. I, on the other hand, seemingly do not care." With the last few words she straightened her scarf and put forth her bitchy-est smirk.

Her expression flowed from anger to laugher. "Ballsy," those pearly whites made a preview again as her dimples widened. "I like that. She needs someone to keep her in check. I'm not around much to keep her out of trouble."

"Oh, trust me I will." She stated honestly. Her mind drifted to the leggy brunette and all her tales of situations she's had to climb out of.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"uh-…" Regina stuttered.  _Am I that transparent?_  She thought to herself, the invasive inquiry flashed across her mind; causing the furrowing of eyebrows.

"Relax, it's cool. You don't have to answer. I'm just glad she's found someone who feels for her with the same intensity; which brings me to my next question."

"We're still doing this?"

"Are you aware of the age difference between you to? Is judgment a problem for you? You're not going through some kind of mid-life crisis where you're just looking for a pretty young thing to corrupt to validate your ego and libido are you? "

"What?" she shouted offensively. " _Mid-life crisis_? I'm 34!" Both hands were high on her waist when her scoff reverberated around the living room. "And I really don't need any assistance in the ego or any other category." By the last word her tone was seething.

"Confident; check." Ariel said; deliriously proud of herself for seeing how far she could push before she got a rise out of the other woman. "I must say, I like the fight in you." She leaned over to pick up the stuffed to the brim bag and toss it over her shoulder. "I'm slightly upset that she got to you first." Her eyes raked over the petite Latina's form. "I'm going to have to rethink my life choices on the drive back."

"Oh my God Regina, how long have you been here?" Ruby asked hurriedly almost breaking out into a jog from the back bedroom once she heard more than one voice.

"Not long-" Regina's words were cut off when Ruby's warm body smashing into hers. The tips of her heels scraped across the concrete floor as she was spun around; shielded from the whispered conversation taking place over her shoulder.

"You are so fucking dead." Ruby said through clenched teeth.

"What? Why? We were just talking! I was getting to know your  _girlfriend_. We'll continue this at a later date." Ariel bounced her eyebrows in glee.

"Out!" Ruby pushed hard at the Nike trademark in the middle of the duffle Ariel was holding; causing her to stumble backwards out into the hall. Her flip flops squeaked as she rushed out into the hall, leaving Regina to take a seat cross-legged on the couch repressing a smirk.

SMACK

"Ouch!" Ariel's voice sounded from behind the closed door, Regina snickered quietly.

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to hi-" Ruby's apology was silenced by the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. "Ow! Fuck! I said sorr-…quit!" There was more rustling, but quickly followed by Ruby smoothing her hair back into some semblance of control and popping her head into the apartment. "Hey, you okay?"

"Are you okay?" Regina hummed in amusement.

"Yeah, I'm great." She put a hand around her neck to cover the embarrassing shade of red that she could feel readily creeping around her shoulder blade. "I'm just gonna walk her down. You should pick out three movies you haven't seen. Help yourself to anything in the fridge; we'll make lunch when I get back. See you in 90 seconds."

As the door clicked closed, the word "kitchen", written in perfect calligraphy, crossed her mind and her stomach began to grumble in desire. Hopping off the couch Regina rounded the living room furniture and crossed over into the kitchen. Her Ralph Lauren platforms froze in place as her eyes locked on a bag of homemade brownies. Like a moth to a flame, in six quick steps she was already leaning over the kitchen sink popping half of a brownie into her mouth.  _Fuck yes_. She moaned at the moist texture coating her tongue, closing her eyes when she discovered the ribbon of caramel and chocolate chips between pieces of perfection. Regina tried to recall if she had partaken in any meals today passed her bottle of water for breakfast. She berated her self-control for giving into a brownie as her first source of nutrients for the day.  _Ok, that's enough_. She warned, resealing the bag and removing herself from further temptation and opening the refrigerator. The fridge was packed with all of her favorite fruits, vegetables, and cheeses. Her stomach let out a war cry loud enough to shake the cereal boxes in the far corner. "Holy hell," the petite brunette said embarrassed, as she looked past the door to see if Ruby was back to inquire about the earthquake her hunger started.

"Ok, you know what. You can wait until lunch is ready, maybe some juice will tide you over." Regina said to herself as she lifted a pitcher of translucent pink liquid onto the counter, running her fingers over the word "SNEAK" written in big black sharpie on the side. For a few seconds she pondered over the meaning, but then just chalked it up to perhaps being a moniker for one of the apartment's inhabitants. Plucking a glass from the drying rack over the sink she held it up to the sun coming through the window to check its level of cleanliness. Satisfied with the outcome, she poured herself a sample amount of the label-less juice and held it to her nose. Not picking up anything foul, she held her breath and took it back like the shots she used to do with Kathryn back in her heyday. It tasted like strawberries missed with Jesus; she'd downed two whole glasses before she could hear footsteps in the hall outside the door.  _Shit._ Regina looked at the once full pitcher and noticed that 1/3 of its contents had disappeared.  _Leave it to me on my first time here to act like I own the place._  The front door to the apartment swinging closed snapped her from her thoughts; she quickly deposited the canister back into the fridge.

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. Ignore her; we're super protective of each other, she lik-...Wait, I'm sorry. She's not important right now, how was your day?" Ruby smiled brightly and walked over to place a kiss on her lips. "Mhmmm, you taste good. What have you been eating?" The Latina hid the guilty facial expression crossing her features in the crook of Ruby's neck and sighed.

"Ok, you caught me. I found brownies, I couldn't help myself."

"Ha, it's ok. I'm so telling Henry you've been eating junk all day though."

"Traitor!" she laughed and poked at a hard rib. "And I haven't been eating junk all day, just right now. You really shouldn't have fresh brownies around me, or anything chocolate to be honest; they're like catnip."

"Ha, now I'm going to make them every day to tempt you," Ruby pulled away from Regina to the Ziploc bags of brownies on the counter.

"Please don't make me feel any worse for eating it." Regina tugged at her bottom lip.

"It's okay. How much did you eat? I'm going to be ornery if you've ruined your appetite." Ruby asked, leaning over to turn on the overhead light before placing her hands pointedly on her hips.

"If anything is going to ruin my appetite, it'd be all that juice I drank." Regina said shrugging off her blazer and placing it on the back of the chair.

"What juice? I was going to make lemonade for us because I forgot to buy juice." Ruby pointed to the Country Time lemonade mix and the bag of lemons on the counter.

"This juice," the petite woman sauntered over to the fridge and lifted the half empty container into the air.

"ohhhhhh, that's not juice. Sure it has some juice in it, but I'm positive it's like 99.7% liquor."

" _What_?" Regina sat down at the small table set. "I…what?"

"See this label," Ruby took the container from the confused woman's grasp. "We call it 'sneak' because it's after effects are going to sneak up on you and smack you in the face."

"When exactly is it going to hit me?"

"I don't know, that's why we call it sneak." The taller brunette shrugged her shoulders and went back to preparing for lunch. When she noticed her guest's unusual silence, ruby turned off the running tap to check and see if Regina was still even in the room. "Relax; you only drank a little. So it won't take that long and it shouldn't hit too hard."

"It won't last  _that long_? Won't hit  _that hard_?" She scratched anxiously at her forearms.

"…"

"Ruby!" She shouted as she leapt from her seat and began to pace the perimeter of the room. "I have to go back to work in two hours. I'm also a government official, I'm not supposed to be participat-."

"Regina relax," Ruby stood in the nervous woman's path and placed a hand around her shoulder. "You're with me, safe, and inside. I'm going to take care of you, nothing is going to happen." She rubbed patterns against tense muscles, "I promise."

Regina sighed into the comfort of the dark beauty's words, wrapping tighter around their embrace. "I always find myself in these situations, don't I?" She sighed in defeat, the situation was almost comical. Her arms found their way across her chest in faux hurt as the younger woman's chest began heaving with laughter in front of her. Its pitch growing as she tried to avoid the smaller woman's sharp pokes. "Shut up! I forgot to eat today. And you had brownies; they were so tempting. And then I got thirsty; it's the brownie's fault."

"Really?" Ruby snickered pulling her into a kiss. "That's your story? I left you alone for two minutes."

"And your point is?"

"Oh nothing," She disappeared into the fridge, and reappeared with fresh vegetables and chicken; "no point to make here."

"What's for lunch? If you haven't gotten the memo, I'm starving." Regina's face lit up excitedly at the sight of food; her crisis temporarily forgotten.

"On the menu this afternoon we have Marinated Chicken Pitas and southwestern pasta salad. That I may or may not have swiped from Granny while she was asleep last night."

"You are terrible."

"Only if I'm caught," she said with a sly grin. Getting everything in place to grill the chicken on the stove, she gave Regina directions to everything in the kitchen so that she could do her part and set the table. They settled into comfortable conversation as they moved around the kitchen in tandem. Regina began to pull elements from all over the house, making the kitchen table look like a display out of Better Homes and Gardens. Ruby watched silently as she worked, captivated at how much attention to detail she paid to an environment she'd spent less than an hour in.

"What are you smiling at over there?" Regina asked slyly, her voice heavier than normal.

"Nothing, the food's almost ready. You okay?"

"Strangely, I'm feeling nothing short of fantastic. I'm surprised I'm not mid anxiety attack, yet on the contrary I feel rather relaxed and happy, which is tends to happen whenever I'm arou-…. I can't stop talking." She covered her mouth. "This is not good."

"What's not good? We talk all the time, I like listening to you." Ruby gave her a perplexed glare after plating the chopped chicken and carrying it to the table to join the rest of the diced vegetables and cheese.

"That's not it, I said more than enough. It was too much detail. I never give up that much information about the true nature of my- oh my god." Regina laughed nervously in spite of herself, "what is happening?"

"Ha, Relax. It's not that deep." She kissed the brunette's warming temple and held her chair out giving her the cue to sit down.

"Am I tipsy....already?" She giggled at the vibrations the word left on her lips. "I can tell this is gonna be one of those situations where I have no filter."

"Is it bad that I'm a little excited?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"I think so; I hope I don't embarrass myself."

"Well, it's only me here."

"That's what makes me nervous." She cackled as she dropped sour cream on her plate. "Damn, I'm hungry. This is a shame. I can't believe I didn't eat again today." She said; her tone carefree as she spent all of her attention creating a colorful plate from the dishes spread across the small round table..

"Why are you not eating?"

"Too busy, you know. The usual" She sighed before taking a bite of the fluffy flatbread, "doing my job and the mayor's." Regina tried to keep her eyes focused and trained on the woman in front of her, but the more she stuffed the delicious food into her mouth the harder it got.

"Why are you doing his work? What the hell is he doing that's so important?" Ruby rolled her eyes, thinking over all of their less than stellar encounters.

She placed the sandwich back on the table and wiped at her mouth with the napkin, "What's he doing? Well I guess it's increasingly difficult to juggle time between staring at his own reflection, being a piss poor example of a human being, and an oversized man-child." Regina laughed and rolled her eyes when her lunch partner began a failed attempt to keep the contents of her sandwich nestled between both pieces of flatbread and not in a pile in the center of her plate. "I work this hard because I need to keep him popular and afloat so that he can endorse me next fall. It's not much, and it's giving me practice for when I'm in his office officially."

"Well it sounds like more than it's worth if you're not making time to feed yourself."

"I make time to feed my son, that's good enough." Regina went back to attacking her lunch.

"Yeah babe, but you have to take care of you too." Ruby said picking at the chicken on the plate with her fork. She realized she had done it again, dropped the sentimental noun; awkwardness hung over them like a cloud. After their night of binge drink and rescue, romantic idioms somehow wormed their way into Ruby's vernacular; only displaying themselves when she was her most serious. Originally only present when there is more than a legal amount of alcohol swimming around in her bloodstream, now fluffy words were popping up left and right. Heavily used in situations that proved to be exactly when she didn't need them. She cleared her throat to remove the discomfiture from around the table, "I just want to make sure you're taking care of yourself. She placed her hand under the table to grab the one in her house guest's lap, "who else is gonna bake me cookies from scratch at three in the morning." Ruby put forth her best puppy dog impression, while Regina just rolled her eyes. Within a second they were both giggling honestly, twirling their pinkies around the others until they began to eat in comfortable silence; for all of 45 seconds.

"Stop fidgeting, you look like you're about to take off into outer space."

"Whatever, am not."

"You are too. Can you not sit still for more than a couple of minutes?"

"I just have a lot of energy. I don't know what to do with it."

"Well what do you usually do to relieve stress?" Regina asked as she picked up their empty plates and deposited them into the soapy dish water.

"I used to be heavy into sports; captain of the varsity cross country team and women's soccer team in high school." The towering brunette pointed cheekily to her flexing bicep, "I threw for Storybrooke Track and Field and was first base starter for community softball." She walked over and placed her hands on both sides of Regina's under the foam-covered water, running her pinkies along small olive wrists. "Then there's always weed and sex." With the last words, Ruby's lips were climbing beneath the smaller woman's collar. "I have the stamina of a champ," she whispered onto shuddering skin between sopping kisses. "And a yearning to leave you  _very_ …" a wet hand found its way to the neck of the woman grinding her hips into her. Ruby gave it a gentle squeeze before letting black painted fingernails lead a fiery trail of desire down her perfect olive toned chest, "…very _happy_."

"I think you need to do something about it then," she moaned softly into the air. Turning slowly, she reached up to wrap her arms around the dark beauty and pulled her closer. They sighed in unison when Regina's hands climbed down from her shoulders and journeyed under her sports bra. The leggy brunette leaned back and looked at her under hooded eyelids; before either of them could speak or think about an alternative, Ruby was dragging them towards a closed door at the end of the hall.

With a soft kick they were behind the mysterious entryway, drowning in the sounds of a soulful song playing through various speakers strung around the room. The heaviness of the guitar soothed the racing of their hearts. Regina gazed around the room, noting the music and movie posters that she could recognize adorning each wall. The room had an out of the ordinary aura to it she couldn't quite put her finger on, this moment she found herself in began to stir the same internal reaction.  _Stop thinking!_  She screamed at herself for trying to sabotage the situation at hand.  _But this could get messy; you know how you are with feelings._ The decibel level of the music encasing the room began to grow around them; the down stroke of the bass guitar rattling their chests with each beat. She found herself trying to focus her mind to pay attention to the words of the song.

"Stop thinking," Ruby said moving her hips to the slow tempo against the smaller woman's back and humming along to the tune.

"Hmmm?" Regina hummed, pivoting slowly with eyes closed. She kissed fervently at the taller woman's neck to dispel any feeling of retreat. She ran her hands down the other woman's torso, grinning furtively when she noticed no layers between her fingertips and bare skin. "My my, you are very crafty. When did this happen?"

"That's not important," Ruby pressed them towards the unmade bed. "This, right here is what I'm focused on." She stated, standing confidently before reaching out and pushing her soon to be lover onto the bed. Without hesitation she began to kiss uncharted skin while unbuttoning Regina's shirt. With a moan she straddled the feisty brunette and snatched the shirt from her arms.

They pushed at each other's skin aggressively, kissed impatiently, and panted heavily; their soft cries lost to the music blaring around them. Regina could process nothing beyond the fact that there was a gorgeous woman on top of her stirring up delicious heat within her pelvis. A gorgeous woman who was naked and whispering her name between fiery kisses to her neck and chest. She thought about how long it had been since she'd felt this alive, felt this wanted. In an instance the woman's petite frame was flipping them over, giving Regina leeway to claim control. Rolling her fingers across soft pale skin, she pulled at her bottom lip. Moaning into the younger woman's nails running down her back, she nibbled at the underside of the dark beauty's ear as a distraction from the fingers finding their way between toned thighs.

"Fuck", Regina whispered wantonly as slick heat coated the digits making a voyage down the other woman's pelvis. The sound of her name spilling slowly from kiss swollen lips was the perfect encouragement. Regina's skilled ministrations gained alacrity; her insistent lips devouring every hungry moan escaping the fiery woman who was rapidly approaching climax.

When it hit, Ruby's body tensed under the assault of the other woman's trained palms; with her head buried in the crook of Regina's neck she let out a clipped sigh. Bringing her hand from between them, Regina let out an arrogant hum as she inspected the amount of liquid covering her fingers. Neither of them noticed that the soulful music acting as the soundtrack to their first time had long since stopped, letting the sound of Regina's ringtone steal away their attention, "my phone!"

"Yeah, you left it in my jacket last night. I charged it for you." Ruby said dragging her tongue along the underside of her breast.

"Thank you," Regina said with a kiss; the alert for a missed call sounded before the ringtone started again. She growled and made her way to the edge of the bed.

"Let it ring," Ruby said scrambling lazily after her.

"It's my assistant; he wouldn't call twice if it wasn't important." She groused before finger combing her hair back into place. "Speak and fast."

"Regina, the mayor is looking for you. His meeting ended early and he wants to move your 5:30 meeting to 10 minutes ago, he's on the war path." Jefferson conveyed his message with all of the sass he could muster up as he typed away at his computer. "I bought you fifteen minutes. You're welcome; I'll expect my Christmas bonus to be extra hefty, mama has been eyeing a Caribbean vacation." With a sigh the line dropped.

"Duty calls?" Ruby asked solemnly, pulling the covers over top of them. She traced patterns down the curve of the sophisticated woman's back and nuzzled her neck blissfully.

"Unfortunately…" she sighed; entranced by the feel of the rambunctious woman holding her tight and humming the mesmerizing bass line of the song that led them up to this moment. "Let me go before you make me abandon my responsibilities," she said, chuckling softly when the arms around her tightened instead of setting her free.

"Just a little while longer?" Ruby asked. Reverting to a tactic she was beginning to master at getting her way; she trailed wet kisses across her clavicle, flashing tongue in the dips that made the cultivated woman squirm.

"Okay, five minutes."

* * *

The moon hung over the hills in the distance, its fullness stodgy alongside the cloudless sky as it illuminating the streets with a peaceful hue. Regina couldn't fault how beautiful the scene was as she rounded the curve on the wet roadway. The night was quiet as she brought her sleek Mercedes down the lonely road between hanging willow branches, maybe a little too quiet. She tapped her phone screen, checking for the 6th time in 35 minutes if the address from the flyer in her email matched what she typed in on her car's state of the art GPS system.  _Okay, so far we have trees, trees, hills, more trees._  She checked her surroundings, speeding up when she noticed that she'd been on the road for at least the last 15 minutes without any other travelers.

Earlier that evening as she cited the last footnote on the last page of the last report in her "to do" folder, the crescendo of cow bells and bass guitar reverberated against the tower of classic literature on the bookcase lining her office wall. The golden framed clock attached to her desk couldn't be right or the clock on her computer, it was imperative that she look at her phone to prove their inaccuracies; and not at all because she wanted to reward herself with much needed attention from the twenty something brunette currently across town. Shamefully it turned out that they were all correct, go figure. She noted the time again and hummed delightedly to herself, it was early; early enough to get dressed and be in attendance at the concert the coincidentally featuring a band that held the woman she's been spending every available second getting close to as their front runner. She opened their message thread and deviously typed a short half-hearted good luck message before running off to her closet to ultimately destroy the hard work they put forth organizing her mess of a wardrobe.

"This can't be the right way," Regina grumbled pulling her car over to the side of the road and making sure her doors were locked. Snatching the mobile device from its holder, she over examined the phone's contents again and enlarged the map embedded in her dashboard. "It says we'll be there in 8 minutes," she stated to herself aloud. "But where in the hell is it? I feel like I'm in the in the middle of the damn Texas Chainsaw Mass-" She clutched at her rapidly beating heart in fright when a blonde haired teenager knocked on her driver's side window disrupting her troubled conversation with herself. Slowly blinking away the panic building in her chest, she let her fingertips hover over the automatic button before she aversely rolled her window down halfway. "Yes?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay? Do you need some help?" the fresh faced young woman inquired.

"Oh yes, I'm fine." Regina smiled wearily at her, struggling to get her breathing back to its normal rhythm. Dark eyes roamed over her form, she looked to be a sweet faced girl, barely out of her training bra; "just a little turned around I believe." The teenager was perfect for a Freddy Kruger movie, one that was apparently about to be featuring Regina in 5 minutes.

"Maybe we could help?" The girl's pig tails swung against her face as she bounced on the heels of her feet. "We live around here; people get lost all of the time," she waved a hand at the gathering of old Victorian houses over the far right in the horizon.

 _I bet they do, and wind up on the back of milk cartons. Maybe I should tell Kathryn I'm out here._  Regina thought over the girl's convenient offer of assistance and hastily grabbed her phone from her lap and began to type a quick SOS txt to her best friend, just in case they found her car abandoned on the side of the road. Out of her peripheral she took in the state of the family styled vehicle her current aid appeared out of, her eyebrows danced slightly struggling to hide the disgust flowing through her mind as she mentally queried if the minivan had been washed in this millennium by anything other than rainwater. "I'm just looking for a club called the Cat's Cradle?" she mumbled, attempting to appear indifferent. At the mention of the venue, the teenager's heart shaped face perked up; a cold sweat broke at the nape of Regina's neck.  _Jesus Christ, don't say what I think you're about to say._

"You can just follow us!" The blonde yelled as she retreated into the dusty silver minivan blasting heavy metal guitar through cracked tinted windows. As she opened the door, the teenager looked back over her shoulder at the older woman, confusion clouding her features.

Regina watched her retreating highlighter green Chuck Taylor's with her mouth at a hard line. The cultivated brunette rolled her eyes so hard she felt light headed; she forced her back to slump in the chair defeatedly and closed the gap in her window reluctantly.  _Regina, what in the hell are you doing out here with these children? Please be some kind of sick joke, Stephen King where are you?_ She asked aloud with another eye roll, her black beauty kicked up gravel as it sped down the path behind the family vehicle. The frustrated Latina groused as the van ahead of her made a jerky last minute turn down a road hidden between trees. Within seconds, her sour mood was leveled as soon as the caravan began driving across a sand lot overlooking a breathtaking waterfront.

Following the multi colored strobe lights, Regina smiled to herself once she noticed the little red sports car that Ruby adored; relief flooded her senses at the acknowledgement of her girlfriend's presence inside the massive structure before her.  _Girlfriend, really? Well someone is surely ahead of themselves._  Pulling down the visor, she let out an offended scoff and flipped the button above her rearview mirror to illuminate her reflection. Affronted at her own reactions at the acknowledgement of her paramour's closeness, Regina's line of thought drifted off lost in thought again as she innately applied a fresh coat of rich burgundy lipstick.  _We've never discussed that before, what if this is just a temporary thing. Am I really that opposed to the idea? I wonder if I'm the only one she's seeing? Hmm I wonder what she's wearing. She's so irresistible when she's dressed in that chic tomboy look; hopefully I won't have to resist tonight…or in the morning. I wonder if she's any good, I wonder if I'm still any good._  She slapped the visor back into place and begrudgingly grabbed her clutch.  _Okay Regina, now you're being ridiculous. Get out of the car._

The breeze coming up off of the inland waves was just enough to motivate her towards the crowd of people waiting at the side of the club. Regina spotted the teenagers that guided her away from being potentially murdered and offered her gratitude.

"No problem, everyone gets lost on their first time." The young man offered up before their spokesperson could speak up.

"Nonetheless, thank you again." She smiled honestly and turned to make her great escape to the door.

"Dude, I thought you said she was old? She's not old, she's  _hot_." The boy whispered, but apparently not at a decibel low enough; his face turned beet red when her black and gold Valentino heels halted a few feet in front of them, he held his breath hoping the brunette wouldn't turn around.

"Excuse me?" Regina called over her shoulder, eyebrow pointed predatorily.

"She didn't mean it, not like _that_. She only said it because she was jealous." The raven haired man fumbled over his words, epically failing at trying to dispel some of the heat from the woman's glare. "I'm Brandon and this is Alicia," he did a poor Vanna White impersonation before desperately extending his hand as a white flag.

Regina looked and the pale shaking palm and black fingernails offered to her, she had to remind herself what generation she was dealing with. "Regina," she left her introduction terse.

Brandon's smile faltered when he noticed both women's attitudes were not softening. He adjusted the red plaid shirt around his acid wash covered hips, the awkward tension around them became too much for the young brunet, "My sister kind of pines over Rub-" His speech was cut short by an abrupt jab to the arm from the no longer sneering teen. "Ow! Dammit man, that hurt." His hands rubbed tight circles over the darkening spot where he was struck. "Fuck this," he mumbled through clenched teeth, eyes burning into the blonde who was clearly losing the battle with everyone around her. "Nice to meet you," Brandon turned back towards the brunette, eyes shining with a silent plea to take it easy in his absence as he walked passed her.

Regina respected his valor; the teen sporting an unnecessary attitude obviously didn't appreciate having a sibling that was born with an innate instinct to protect her. For an eighth of a second the green eyed monster tried pulled at her veins, why was it that this little brat deserved to be fortunate enough to go through the first section of life with at least one person wanting to protect her. In her youth Regina was soft spoken and self-sufficient as an only child, but nothing protected her from an abusive mother and ignorant father. "How old are you Alicia?" Regina asked realizing she was getting ahead of herself and forcing her own history where it didn't belong, turning around to walk towards the gathering of people under the glowing marquee.

Taking her cue to follow, the young girl's silver converses shuffled in the sand in attempts to keep up with the older woman's pace; "sixteen and a half."

"Ahh, I see, almost a woman. That's a very important age; you're coming into your own." Regina watched the girl nod, her face tempering slightly. "What do you want to be when you're my age? Before you answer that, how old do you think I am?"

Alicia paused for a moment, unable to comprehend why the woman she obviously insulted was taking the time to talk to her so candidly. She thought for a second, eyes raking over Regina's for in her peripheral noting her regal posture and the high end fashion choices adorning her lithe frame; "I don't know."

"Good answer," Regina said amused. "And when you become an adult, what career would you like to pursue?" As the pair got closer Regina eyed the massive line, mentally tallying the age differences amongst the boisterous group. With silent disdain she held her breath as she took into account the gaudy color schemes, metal spiked clothing, and daring haircuts.  _I am above standing in this line_ , she groaned internally.

"My dad wants me to be a nurse and my mom wants me to be a teacher. So…I guess one of those?" Alicia twirled the frayed edge of her pigtail with her fingertips.

"I asked what  _you_  wanted to be." She turned back around to face the muddled teen.

"I…don't know. What do you do?"

"Currently, I am the County Commissioner for Storybrooke; it's a few cities over. Next election season I'll be running for Mayor." Regina stated nonchalantly, buffing her nails against the neckline of her black Givenchy jumpsuit.

"Wow…" It could have been the way the wind rolled obnoxiously over the sea and roughly past their ears making it hard to hear, or the softness in Alicia's voice betrayed the maturity level she was fighting so hard to pretend was natural.

"Yes, wow. It isn't what I thought I would be when I was your age, but I like it and I have a good life. I am the youngest person to ever be in my position; I am also the first woman to ever hold this title. Do you know how I got there?" Regina waited a beat, to see if the girl would engage her with her opinion on how the real world actually works. When she couldn't come up with an answer in the timeframe, the older woman sighed and answered the question. "I commanded respect through my actions, therefore I was never disrespected. We women have to overcome more obstacles than you can imagine, but I can tell you one thing. You will  _never_  get to where you want bringing another woman down just to make yourself feel better; we have to be strong and stick together." The Latina's features relaxed as she peered into innocent blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." Alicia's gaze dropped to the ground, watching the small puffs of sand cloud around her ankles as she shamefully kicked at the dirt. "I can see why Ruby likes you; you're so smart and pretty."

Manicured nails snuck under the young girls chin, forcing her eyes up. "And you my dear are gorgeous and intelligent." Regina smiled tenderly at the rosy hue that was blossoming within the adolescent's cheeks, "Keep that attitude and turn it into ambition; and for appearances sake and you know a little thing I like to uphold called " _the law"_ ; let's stick to crushes around your own age." She reached into her clutch and pulled out the stray business card she was using as a decoration to even up the flow of her cardholder and dropped it into Alicia's hand. "Now when you turn eighteen and you feel as if you can give me a run for my money; you know where to reach me." By the time the young blonde was scanning the card for a number Regina was already in the distance heading down to the front of the building around the rambunctious line.

It could have been the way the midnight wind felt as it whipped across her exposed spine; showing that tonight, even the elements were powerless to the magnetic pull of her satiny skin. Or perhaps it was the way the bass from the whatever song being played inside the club made the brick walkway thump so hard against the balls of her feet her gait couldn't dare be anything but seductive. As she approached the front of the line bypassing the cacophony of conversation and even louder fashion choices, she mentally noted the estimated ages of those she passed; all younger than herself. Yet with this gained information, instead of her usual urge of retreat, a surge of determination soared through her nervous system. The muffled tick-tick-boom from the deejay's latest selection within the walls of the club propelled her forward with renewed energy. The vainest part of her ego perceptually tallied the amount of conversations dropped and eyes scanning to measure the curves of her passing figure from the young men and women standing single filed in front of the velvet rope. She was on fire.

Eyeing the first security guard at the base of the crowded mass of people, Regina set her predatory gaze. Before she could open her mouth to request passage around the line, the scruffy man was practically drooling; already holding the gate open he waved her through. With her granted entrance, she could feel his eyes roving over on her back.

"I'm Ke-nny," the man stumbled over his own name. The brunette grinned seductively, feet never slowing, she laughed internally at his less than subtle attempts to show appreciation for her well-kept body. Winking over her shoulder at his lean frame Regina pictured the end of the night, when she finally won over the eternal affections of the woman of her recent dreams; she knew to make it a point to walk past him when the night came to a conclusion. She blew a kiss for extra effect, it was better to give him false hopes; so the blow to his spirit when she and Ruby left together tonight would be all the more detrimental. Tonight was starting to look up; his crushed dreams would be the silver lining to the turbulent journey she was caught on.  _Eat your heart out. "_ Bye Kenny." He said something in response, but Regina was already too unimpressed to devote the energy required to listen. She was far too focused on the next challenge in the distance.

Rounding the dark carpeted ramp, the bright light of the marquee illuminated the chiseled silhouette of the next obstacle in the dark haired beauty's race to get inside unnoticed. At the table in front of the glass encased entrance before her stood the super tanned destroyer of the flawless plan to get inside stealthily. Or she thought it was a flawless plan somewhere between the search for her highest pair of heels and determining which shade of lipstick was the most venomous. It was something about the way he growled and rolled his eyes simultaneously upon noticing her approach that raised a small flag with the sophisticated woman; but the way he threw his unbitten submarine sandwich into the greasy paper bag upturned the threat level. Sure she could probably just call Ruby up and get her ushered in, but since when has Regina ever needed anyone to help her get anywhere? Right, she can't think of a time either.

"Yeah?" With his thick Australian accent, the gruff security guard questioned her presence; his body language screaming apprehensive.

"No need to hold off on clogging your arteries any further, I can just walk in." The sophisticated woman bent to untether the divider barring her entrance.

"Hang on a minute, what are you doing?" He extended his long arms to block her path, coming entirely too close to touching her.

"Entering the Cat's Cradle," She couldn't help but form a squint to her eyes and a condescending expression.

"This is the VIP entrance, general admin is around the corner."

"I've deduced that," Regina's voice hardened.

"You're not on the list."

"That's very presumptuous of you; I don't recall giving you my name."

"That's very presumptuous of you to think that I cared to ask." He mimicked her tone

"Meanwhile, I'm waiting for your point." You could see the tension rolling off the pair from space. There are some people in life that are never supposed to interact solely with each other due to their feuding personalities; but for some unseen reason that cosmic law was broken, leaving Regina and this Hulk Hogan lookalike standing outside of The Cat's Cradle gearing up for war.

"If you want to come through here you're going to have to pay our General VIP Price,"

"I'm prepared to pay, if that's behind the reason for your less-than-appreciated attitude."

"Alrighty then; $300." The blonde said, standing to his feet. His six foot three million height advantage towered over her, yet her stance exploded to offensive instead of the docile he was hoping for.

"Excuse you? Maybe you do need to pick up that sandwich, apparently your blood sugar is low if you think I'm about to pay 300  _anything_ to walk into this establishment."

"Well you can get your hoity-toity ass-"

"Whoa!" A fresh faced young man said bounding from the closed door with his hands outstretched ready to diffuse the fragile situation in front of him. "Well that escalated quickly," he said sweeping his bangs out of his eyes. The debonair young man, adorned in tailored Italian fabrics unchained the velvet rope dividing the group. The tall blonde folded his arms in amusement as the young gentleman joined his side.

 _Shit_. Regina scolded herself, when she noticed the downward spiral this situation was caught up in.

"Mikey,  _Mikey_  you've got to be nicer to our guests. They're not going to want to come back. And we can't have this as Ms. Mills' last visit."


End file.
